10 YEARS LATER, FLORIDA'S FCAT, SCHOOL GRADE REFORMS GET MIXED GRADES -- Back in the 1990s, Florida had a reputation -- deserved or not -- for graduating too many kids who couldn't read or write. Then-Gov. Jeb Bush, who saw himself as an education innovator, hit on a grand plan to make schools accountable. He called it the A+ Plan for Education. It morphed into the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test and took on newfound importance: Schools would be assigned a letter grade, A through F, based on exam scores. A decade later, the FCAT and school grades -- along with a host of other changes -- have placed Florida front and center in the educational reform movement. ``Florida has the strongest accountability system in the country,'' said Stacey Rutledge, assistant professor in educational leadership and policy at Florida State University. ``Teachers and principals -- the entire rhythm of their lives is based on this. Things like housing prices are linked to school grades.'' Which is not to say everyone likes the system. Many parents, teachers, principals and students despise grades because of the stigma D's and F's place on schools labeled failing. They deplore a culture of high-stakes testing that dictates what gets taught in the classroom. And state high school graduation rates are still near bottom. But there have been accomplishments: Students' scores on standardized tests have improved. And Florida has been lauded for closing the gap between white and minority students. Here, on the 10-year anniversary of Bush's plan for remaking education, is a look at its dramatic impact on the state.
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Thanks to Mark Pudlow for the lead and the clips.