SUPERINTENDENT ALBERTO M. CARVALHO ASKS FLORIDA BOARD OF EDUCATION TO RECONSIDER ACCOUNTABILITY CHANGES
Task force of superintendents will review changes, make recommendations

TAMPA - Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho spoke before the Florida Board of Education (FBOE) this morning to ask that the Board reconsider accountability changes that may have a potentially negative impact on school performance grades across the state.  In response, FBOE Chair Gary Chartrand instructed Florida Commissioner of Education Tony Bennett to form a task force of school superintendents who would examine the issue and make recommendations to the Board.

Miami-Dade County Public Schools has long supported accountability measures that help educators to focus their efforts to teach the students in our community, despite the fact that our county is challenged by many issues, including immigration, mobility and language.  However, the large number of changes imposed by the state over the last two years has so altered the accountability system that schools that have experienced dramatic levels of improved student achievement may actually receive lower school performance grades.

Superintendent Carvalho also recommended that plans be suspended to have students’ scores from special and alternative education centers revert to their “home” schools, which they may never have attended. He urged that consideration be given for English language learners, who are expected to pass the difficult exams and have their scores included in their schools’ performance grades after only one year of English language instruction.

Additionally, the effect of compounded changes has not been studied, and the possibility exists that multiple variables will have a much more devastating impact for teachers, students and the community.

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