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Florida Formula for Student Achievement:Lessons for Improving Student Learning

John L Winn

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Of inmates in our prisons cannot read above a 4th grade level.

Of food stamp recipients are high school dropouts.

Of all kids brought before the juvenile court system are functionally illiterate

Of welfare recipients are high school dropouts

Damage of Low Expectations

+70%

75%

85%

90%

AdvancedDegree

$73,798

$56,665$30,627

$20,241

Average Earnings by Education: 2009

Source: US Census Bureau, Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012

Bachelor’sDegree

High School Diploma

No Diploma

Education doesn’t get enough

money. It’s unfair to hold all kids to the same standards

Poverty and broken homes are to blame.

Labeling kids hurts their self-esteem

Dismal Student Achievement

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An Era of Excuses

FORCES AGAINST REFORM

• Not the schools’ fault• You don’t understand the kids we serve• Everyone is working hard• Why now? No local demand for reform• Parent satisfaction with child’s school• Education groups resist interference• The real problem is lack of money• General aversion to conflict?

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WHY REFORM EDUCATION?

• Low student achievement• Inequities in education quality• Poor public and parent understanding• Lack of credible performance measures• Lack of accountability for performance• Few or no choices for families• Low public support for education

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High expectations and support for all students

Rigorous academic standards

Clear accountability for schools

Choices for families

Rising Student Achievement

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Culture of Education Reform

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Florida’s Diverse Student Population

• 2.7 million students

• Majority minority student population

• Large population of students learning English as a second language

• About half of students are eligible for free and reduced priced lunch

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Florida Reforms 1999-2011

• A – F School Grades based on student learning• Rewards for High and Improved Academic Results • Alternatives to Attending Failing Schools• Promotion and Graduation Requirements• A Laser Focus on Reading• Added Support for Teachers and Students• Incentivizing Educators for High Performance• Choices, Choices, Choices (charter, private, digital)• Strong Interventions for Failing Schools

• Create incentives for rigor and college readiness– Reward teachers with cash bonuses for every

student who passes an Advanced Placement exam

– Provide free PSATs for all 10th Graders– Increase access to Advanced Placement

courses for minority students.

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Florida’s Education Reform

Closing racial and economic achievement gaps

Largest gains for Black students

Largest gains for low-income students

Florida Rising in the Ranks

5th

4th3rd

1stLargest gains for students with disabilities

Since 2003, when all states began participating in NAEP

FLORIDA’S PROGRESS ON NAEP

1992 1994 1998 2002 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011190

195

200

205

210

215

220

225

230

215212

215217

216 217220 220 220

208205 207

214

218 219

224226 225

Average NAEP 4th Grade Reading Scores, Florida and National Average 1992-2011

National Average Florida

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• Modernizing the Teaching Profession– Evaluate teachers based on student learning– Initiate performance based teacher pay – Professionalize hiring and retention practices– Replace life-long guarantee of employment with

annual contracts– Alternative paths to certification

Reform 2.0: Effective Teaching

CHOICE

Students with

Disabilities

Tax Credit Scholarships

Digital Learning

Pre-K Vouchers

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CHOICES FOR FLORIDA FAMILIES

Charter Schools

Student-Centered Education:

Own style

Own pace

Anywhere, everywhere

Anytime, all the time

Reform 2.0: Digital Learning

CHALLENGES• The desire to water down or soften accountability seems

to never go away• Missteps produce opportunities for opponents• Educators scare parents and students and blame

accountability for putting too much pressure on them• As metrics become more complex, more tweaks are

introduced to lower standards• Constant demand to add features of schools that can be

manipulated• Supporters grow weary of the continuous struggle

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