FCAT FADING AS ONLY TEST FOR GRADING HIGH SCHOOLS -- High schools across Florida are likely to start getting better marks from the state, thanks to the biggest shake-up in the school-grading system since it was started 10 years ago. Instead of basing the A through F grades on how kids do on FCAT exams, Florida will consider such factors as graduation rates and college-entrance exams under a change approved Friday by the Legislature in the closing hours of its two-month session. If the law is signed by Gov. Charlie Crist, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test would be used to calculate only 50 percent of a school's grade. Educators had complained for years that high schools are unfairly judged by the FCAT, which tests only ninth- and 10th-graders in reading, writing and math and -- more recently -- 11th-graders in science. The school grades can have a profound impact, affecting everything from a neighborhood's housing prices to where parents send their kids if they have a choice. Poor grades can hurt a school's reputation, drive away top students and even lead to state-imposed changes in administration. "We all agree FCAT is a very narrow measure of the broad range of work high schools are expected to do," said Darvin Boothe, an administrator with Seminole County schools. "It's a good idea to change the basis for grading high schools." High-school administrators across Florida agreed. "There's so much more to school than one test," said Lynn McGee, principal of Seminole Ridge high school in Palm Beach County. The high-school grading changes are part of a sweeping package of education reforms the Legislature rushed to wrap up Friday. Among them, the lawmakers also pushed the dates for annual FCAT exams to later in the school year and mandated that schools relax "FCAT frenzy" and hoopla surrounding the test and simply teach courses so that students can pass it. The new grading system for Florida high schools would take effect for the 2009-10 school year. That means the high-school grades that come out this summer and next summer will still rely on the old FCAT-based system. The changes don't affect the grading for elementary and middle schools, which will continue to be judged on FCAT scores. Under the new law, schools also will be judged on graduation rates as well as the results of SAT and ACT college-entrance exams. Results of a new battery of final course exams, also approved by the Legislature on Friday, would figure in, too. So would the level of achievement among vocational students who try to attain industry certification in certain fields. Participation and achievement in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate programs also would count.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...0,2648011.story

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content...kfcat_0503.html

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/flo...0,7803706.story

LESSON PLANS FOR EVOLUTION REMAIN INTACT -- New science standards for blorida's public schools will remain intact after the House and Senate on Friday failed to find the missing link in their debate on evolution. Although biology teachers have included evolution in their lesson plans for years, the state Board of Education agreed for the first time this year to require the subject to be taught in science classes. The board's decision sparked an outcry from conservative state lawmakers who wanted to carve out time in science classes for teachers to present alternatives to the foundation of modern biology. Although those lawmakers denied they were motivated by religion, opponents argued they were opening the door for creationism to be taught in science class. Senate Republicans agreed to an "academic freedom" bill that offered protection for teachers who challenged evolution. House Republicans, however, wanted to require science instructors to include a "critical analysis" of evolution in classes. With lawmakers failing to bridge the divide in their debate, both bills died as lawmakers adjourned for the year Friday. The board-approved curriculum remains the standard for lesson plans in public schools this fall.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content...ution_0503.html

VOUCHER EXPANSION PASSES -- A bill expanding a voucher program that sends low-income children to private schools at public expense passed in the waning minutes of the legislative session Friday. The voucher bill would let an additional 6,000 students go to private school at public expense. Currently, 20,000 students get vouchers under the $88 million annual program. Under the bill (HB 653) that passed Friday, that amount would increase to $118 million a year. The value of each voucher would increase by $200 to $3,950. "It gives some poor kid the opportunity to be successful in life," said Sen. Al Lawson, of Tallahassee, one of four Democrats who broke ranks and joined all Senate Republicans in favor of the bill. The chambers had been at odds over a Senate change to the voucher bill that would have paid $200 to parents of every student who voluntarily takes the FCAT. The House questioned the cost of that idea, but both chambers agreed instead to study it for a year.

http://tinyurl.com/65jhkd

BILL MAKES GYM CLASS MANDATORY FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS -- Beginning in the 2009-10 school year, Florida schoolchildren in grades six through eight will receive 150 minutes of physical education a week. Since 2007, state law has mandated that children from kindergarten through grade five have 150 minutes a week of physical education. Under a new law passed by lawmakers Friday, beginning in the 2008-09 school year, sixth-graders who are in an elementary school that also has fourth- and fifth-graders must have 150 minutes of PE. And mandatory physical education for middle school children will take effect 2009-2010 school year. The bill, which Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to sign, also specifies that physical education instruction must be 30 consecutive minutes a day. Some schools had counted the time children walk to the cafeteria or do exercises at their desks toward the mandatory 150 minutes. The middle school PE requirement can be waived with either a parent approval or if the student is enrolled in other physical activities outside of school. Schools don't have to use certified physical education teachers -- that would require 1,835 more teachers at a cost of $89.5 million, according to the state Department of Education.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content...riefs_0503.html

http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/578466.html

CHANGES IN STORE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS --

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...0,4963669.story

CHARTER SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY FAILS --

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/...0,6441121.story

MANDATORY DRIVERS ED BILL FALLS SHORT --

http://www.bradenton.com/local/story/578416.html

NO SALES TAX HOLIDAY FOR SCHOOLS --

http://www.bradenton.com/breakingnews/story/578465.html