Palm Beach Post – Letter to the paper from Karen Zaremba, Lantana
July 11, 2017
Legislators’ whines old news to teachers
So, more than half of Florida’s legislators are upset with their Sunshine Scores produced by Florida’s First Amendment Foundation. They question the fairness and accuracy of an evaluation based on a set of bills introduced and voted upon in one session. The scoring system is “too simplistic,” according to them. It is unfair to discount the importance of staffers’ influence, constituents’ requests and political leadership goals. Legislating is complex. I feel their pain.
As a Florida teacher, I, too, have had to deal with unfairness, inaccuracy, lack of consideration for external and extenuating circumstances when it comes to evaluations. The Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) and its predecessor, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) determine the effectiveness of teachers purely based on reading, writing and math scores earned over several days weeks before the end of the school year. This is a system that has dramatic consequences on employment and salaries.
To the legislators who have systematically driven educators out of the state or the profession with their “reforms” and accountability measures: “You reap what you sow.” [READ MORE]