State Board of Education to Discuss Future Testing Plans

The State Board of Education will be meeting on Tuesday in Gainesville to discuss Florida's academic standards and the future of assessment tests in the Sunshine State.

In September, Gov. Rick Scott ordered Florida to pull out of the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test and required the State Board of Education to hold public hearings on Florida's education standards.

"While the debate surrounding Common Core standards has become polarized into a yes or no discussion, we heard during the Education Summit that most education leaders agreed on two things. We agree that we should say yes to high standards for Florida students and no to the federal governments overreach into our education system," said Scott. "Therefore, I notified the federal government that Florida would be withdrawing from PARCC, and at the same time we will hold public comment sessions to receive input on any alterations that should be made to the current Common Core standards. We are committed to maintaining high standards for our students. Period."

The board will be selecting a new test to measure the standards, which will be fully implemented in Florida's schools by the 2014-2015 academic year. While Florida pulled out of the fiscal responsibility associated with PARCC, it still remains an option for an assessment test.