FL: Education Commissioner Waives High-Stakes Consequences of Tests
April 9, 2021
As spring testing kicked off across the sunshine state this week, Florida education officials confirmed that typical “high-stakes” consequences of the exams, like grade promotions and school accountability measures, would be paused this school year. Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran said the move would alleviate the pressures of testing on students and families, and would ensure some data on student learning during the pandemic is collected to inform school recovery and instruction. The Tampa Bay Times, in an editorial piece applauding both the removal of high-stakes consequences and the administration of tests this spring, said the state’s schools should now use the data to “focus on addressing achievement gaps from a chaotic year.”