Issue Position: Standing Up for Florida's Teachers and Students

Issue Position

Our schools need accountability, but the FCAT is a flawed system. There is entirely too much testing of our students. The FCAT is now a mechanism to punish our students, schools and teachers. This is unacceptable.

Tallahassee does not have all the answers. We need to reach out to our teachers, students, and school boards to determine how to improve our education system. Accountability in education is a must. However, the FCAT system has yielded consequences in the form of teaching-to-the-test, domination of the classroom, and paralyzing intimidation of students. We must work with local school boards, administrators and teachers to develop meaningful solutions to the FCAT problem. Our primary mission is teaching our children and grandchildren. Testing is only useful after students have been taught the curriculum, not just test content.

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