Foundation for Florida's Future Weighs in on Rick Scott's Executive Order

The Jeb-Bush founded Foundation for Florida's future weighed in on Gov. Rick Scott's executive order regarding PARCC and Florida's education accountability on Monday, showing support for the governor's "continued commitment" to the implementation of Common Core State Standards.

While our students have made great academic gains, the truth is a high school diploma often doesnt prepare students well enough for college coursework or todays jobs," said executive director of the foundation, Patricia Levesque. "I am encouraged by Governor Scotts continued commitment to the thoughtful implementation of Floridas Common Core standards while he also seeks input from the public.

I urge the commissioner of education and the state Board of Education to move quickly and carefully to make decisions regarding Floridas assessment. I know we all agree the assessment should be aligned with the higher standards, generate valid, reliable results in a timely manner, be transparent and create a well-defined path to guide teachers, protect the privacy of student data, and allow for comparisons of student achievement in Florida with other states. In order to effectively field test Common Core-aligned assessments next spring, their decisions must be made soon.