Florida Educational Reform
Mr. Scott, Today I learned about the educational system in Florida. I talked to different people with different experiences, and the stories I heard were not good. With this letter, I want you to know that many people think that the educational reform system you are proposing will not work. I specifically want to address the merit pay plan based on students test scores. It’s obvious that teachers now will focus on what the tests will be like, and educate students in how the tests are built up. Teachers will focus on these tests so that their class will get a good score, and the teachers will keep their jobs. Yes, education without a doubt needs to improve, but many of the ideas put forth by the “education reformers” will do more harm than good. You also said: ”The evaluation system used to determine which teachers get merit raises and those who may face dismissal will be based, at least half, on how much their students improve on the FCAT." As we all know, the FCAT requires knowledge in subjects that are not part of the regular curriculum. That means that preparation for the FCAT will replace other material that should be taught according to the curriculum program in that certain grade. I also believe that what identifies a good teacher is years of experience. A teacher must learn over many years how to deal with different kinds of children. If a teacher loses her job after only one year because of a bad test score she will never be able to reach her highest potential as a teacher. Mr. Scott, please do the Florida Educational System a favor, and call back your plan about merit pay plan based on student test scores. Now, you are just putting a band aid over an already bad education system. In order to improve the education system, it is necessary to examine the causes, not just the effects. You have to ask educators and teachers about what is the real problem, and perhaps we are focusing too much on test scores, and not enough on authentic learning. Today, I learned about an education system that will not work. Today is your chance to change this.
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