Florida

State Policy Report Card 2013 State Policy Report Card 2012

State Rank: 2

Overall A C Grade State Rank: Overall A B Grade

D F
D F

GPA

2.73

Florida has established itself as a national leader in putting students first. The state has adopted meaningful educator evaluations, and it requires districts to base all personnel decisions, as well as compensation structures, on classroom effectiveness. Florida is also a model for empowering parents. The state provides parents with useful information regarding school and teacher performance. Parents can also choose from a robust network of public charter schools and a tax credit scholarship program. Florida should provide comparable funding to public charter schools and needs to improve in holding local districts accountable for increasing student outcomes with their investments. The state should also allow mayors to take control of local districts that fail to improve under existing governance structures. Lastly, to ensure career flexibility and sustainability of Florida's retirement system, it should require teachers to participate in its portable retirement option.

GPA

State Momentum Builder

Over the past decade, Florida has steadily grown into a national leader in instituting policies that elevate the teaching profession. The state now requires that teachers and principals be evaluated using multiple measures, including student achievement. Effectiveness in the classroom is the driver for all policies that attract, develop, retain, and reward teachers.

Elevate Teaching Elevate

State Rank: 2

State Rank: 4th

B C D F

Teaching

A GPA

C D F B3.64

Empower Parents Empower

State Rank: 4

State Rank: 4th

A B

Parents

A B C D GPA
GPA

F 1.94

D F

GPA
Florida is a leader for the rest of the country when it comes to ensuring effective teachers and principals are identified, retained, and rewarded by districts. Florida requires districts to evaluate educators meaningfully; several key multiple measures are incorporated, including student academic growth, which comprises 50 percent of the overall evaluation. Of importance, Florida mandates that performance drive all district personnel decisions, including placement, layoff, and tenure decisions. The state has already made progress in its implementation as well. Additionally, Florida invests in compensating its teachers through strong performance pay systems and in recruiting top teaching talent though its alternative certification programs. Adopting comprehensive reforms has allowed Florida to lead the country in its efforts to improve teacher quality and elevate the profession.

Spend Wisely Spend & Govern Wisely & Well Govern

State Rank: 13

State Rank: 4th

A B

A GPA

C D F B 2.00

D F

All families should have the information and access they need to choose high-quality schools for their children, and no student should be forced to attend a low-performing school or be taught by a lowperforming teacher. Florida empowers parents by requiring all PK-12 schools to receive annual report cards that include an A-F letter grade based on student achievement and by requiring that parents are notified when their children are placed in the classroom of a teacher who has been rated ineffective. The state should pass parent trigger legislation that empowers parents to sign a petition to turn around a failing public school. Florida allows for the formation of public charter schools that must meet key accountability provisions, but it should allow for multiple authorizers. Additionally, the state should establish a publicly funded scholarship program limited to low-income students in chronically failing public schools and ensure participating schools meet certain accountability provisions.

Well Florida allows the state to intervene in academically

underachieving schools and districts, but additional governance flexibility, such as mayoral control, is needed. While Florida allows districts to achieve cost efficiencies through multiple management alternatives, it should require districts to link spending data to student outcomes and permit governance changes when funds are mismanaged. Adopting these changes will strengthen Florida's ability to ensure that resources are spent wisely and that districts are focused on improving student achievement. Florida has made significant progress in teacher pension reform by establishing a fully portable retirement option for teachers. The state should continue its reform efforts by requiring all teachers to participate in its portable plan.

GPA

Florida Fast Facts

Michigan Fast Facts total Students, 201011

Stats, 201011 2,643,347
Students School Districts Sources: U.S. Department of Education, NCES,
Common Core of Data (CCD), and 2011 National Schools Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

NAEP Scale Score Rank, 2011

Math reading 4th NAEP Scale 30 Score Rank, 13 2011 Grade Math reading Math reading 4th 8th Grade Grade 42 35 Math reading 8th Grade

NAEP Proficiency, 2011

62% 4th Grade NAEP Proficiency, Math

2011
65%

37%

4th Grade Reading Math Reading

35%
35% Advanced

65% Below Basic Basic

Procient

Public Charters

Below Basic

68% Basic

Procient

29% Advanced

Florida

State Policy Report Card 2013

Momentum Builder: State has made recent progress in this policy area. Anchor Objective: Foundational policy for meaningful education reform. Gold Standard: Exemplar state policies that prioritize bold reform and put students rst.

Elevate Teaching
Comprehensive Evaluation
A

C D F

GPA

3.29

Strong evaluation systems are foundational to improving teacher and principal quality; meaningful evaluations recognize excellence, support development, and address ineffectiveness. Florida is exemplary in this area. Student growth comprises 50% of both teacher and principal evaluations or 40% for those with fewer than three years of data. All evaluations are annual, tied to professional development and observations, and use a four-tier rating of effectiveness. Principals are assessed on their ability to recruit and retain effective teachers, improve teacher performance, and provide staff with leadership opportunities. Teachers are assessed on multiple measures that are determined by the district and approved by the state. Florida can continue its leadership in this area by requiring student feedback within teacher evaluations and explicitly providing districts with the authority to develop an evaluation criteria apart from collective bargaining.

Objective
Teacher Evaluations Principal Evaluations Evaluations & Contracts

Score (04)

3 4 2

Use Evaluations for Personnel Decisions

A
B C D F

GPA

4.00

Basing personnel decisions on performance is critical to building schools that retain effective teachers and make student achievement paramount. Florida is a leader in this area; specifically, the state uses teacher effectiveness to drive decisions around teacher assignment, layoffs, and tenure. Schools have the authority to build and maintain an effective instructional team through hiring decisions and transitioning ineffective teachers out of the profession. Furthermore, when forced to lay off teachers during a budget-related reduction in force, districts must use performance to determine layoffs; seniority is expressly prohibited from being used. Lastly, Florida replaced tenure with a system of annual contracts, which offer rewards based on performance. Florida has created a system that prioritizes students and great teachers, using teacher performance as the driving influence for all personnel decisions.

Objective
Ending Forced Placement Stafng Decision Tenure Attainment & Maintenance

Score (04)

4 4 4

Value Effective Teachers

A
B C D F

GPA

4.00

To encourage a high-quality, diverse workforce, professional pay should be based on performance rather than other non-classroom factors such as seniority or degrees held. Florida has implemented a statewide compensation system that rewards its most effective teachers by tying pay increases to performance measures that prioritize student outcomes. The state no longer permits automatic base pay increases for teachers simply because they have advanced degrees. To further strengthen this system, Florida should set a specific timeframe by which teachers of non-tested subjects will be fully incorporated into the program.

Objective
Reward Performance with Pay Reform Salary Schedules

Score (04)

4 4

Alternative Teacher Certication

A

C D F

GPA

3.25

Florida exhibits many markers of high-quality alternative certification policies. It offers nonuniversity options to candidates who are completing subject-area content requirements and who hold a degree approved by the State Department of Education at the level required for the subject area specialization. The state should require a 3.0 GPA or 2.5 with five years of experience to screen for exceptional candidates. Florida is likewise a standout in program evaluation. The Department of Education reviews and approves alternative preparation programs, conducting annual performance evaluations of postsecondary institutions to measure graduates' effectiveness. Programs must guarantee graduates will be of high quality. State law requires approval of preparation programs contingent on pass rates of participants on teacher certification exams, employment rates, longitudinal retention rates, and employer satisfaction surveys.

Objective
Alternative Certification Pathways Alternative Certification Accountability

Score (04)

3 4

Florida

State Policy Report Card 2013

Momentum Builder: State has made recent progress in this policy area. Anchor Objective: Foundational policy for meaningful education reform. Gold Standard: Exemplar state policies that prioritize bold reform and put students first.

Empower Parents
Empower Parents with Information
A

C D F

GPA

2.80

Florida empowers parents with information and options in a number of ways. Florida has an exemplary state law that requires that all PK-12 schools receive annual report cards that include an A-F letter grade based on student achievement. State law also requires that parents be notified when their children are placed in the classroom of a teacher who has been rated unsatisfactory. To further empower parents, Florida should require districts to obtain consent from parents whose children are placed with an ineffective teacher. Additionally, parents in Florida should have the option of organizing a majority of parents with students enrolled in a chronically low-performing school to sign a petition demanding a school turnaround. In that scenario, the options for the turned-around school would be one of the four federal Race to the Top intervention models.

Objective
School Report Cards Parent Notification Parent Trigger

Score (04)

4 2 0

Increase Quality Choices

A B

GPA

2.00

D F

Florida is working to ensure students are not trapped in a failing public school by increasing quality school choice options; however, more work remains. All schools that take state dollars, including districts, public charters, and private schools taking publicly funded scholarships, should be held to the same high standards and accountability. Florida allows for the formation of public charter schools that must meet key accountability provisions, such as entering into a performance contract and undergoing annual performance reviews to ensure student learning growth. Even though state law allows for the formation of public charter schools, the state only allows local school boards to authorize new charter schools. Florida must allow more charter authorizers to expand high-quality school options in the state and ensure current charter schools have a record of success before replication. Additionally, Florida provides tax credit scholarships for low-income students to attend a private school. The state should establish a publicly funded scholarship program limited to low-income students in chronically failing public schools and ensure private schools meet certain accountability provisions.

Objective
Opportunity Scholarship Charter Establishment & Expansion Charter Accountability

Score (04)

2 2 2

Provide Comparable Resources for All Public Options

A B C

GPA

1.00

Children stuck in chronically failing schools should have an option to attend another school of their choice without being punished by the state through reduced funding. Florida law requires charters to be funded in the same manner as traditional public schools and provides strong access to unused facilities and facility financing, including a per-pupil facilities allowance for eligible schools. However, Florida should reform its skimming provisions that currently allow up to 5% of a charter school's funding to be retained by the charter authorizer. Florida should also amend its tax credit scholarship program to provide a scholarship tuition amount that is competitive with private school tuition. The amount is currently limited to approximately $4,000 annually.

Objective
Fund Fairly Enable Equitable Access to Facilities Charter Facilities Financing

Score (04)

0 2 3

Methodology
State policies were analyzed and assigned an individual score from 0 to 4, with 4 representing the strongest lever for reform and the most common sense policy for students. Anchor policies were assigned a 3x weight. Grade point averages (GPAs) were calculated based on grouping policies by category. For the full methodology, evaluation rubric, and detailed analysis of each policy, please visit the website at reportcard.studentsfirst.org.

GPA Sample Calculations Score

Objective 1 Objective 2 Objective 3 3 2 4 x x x

Weight
3 3 1 7 = = =

Subtotal
9 6 4 19

GPA = Subtotal Total Weight GPA = 19 7 = 2.71

Florida

State Policy Report Card 2013

Momentum Builder: State has made recent progress in this policy area. Anchor Objective: Foundational policy for meaningful education reform. Gold Standard: Exemplar state policies that prioritize bold reform and put students first.

Spend Wisely & Govern Well

Promote Governance Structures that Streamline Accountability
A B

GPA

2.00

D F

The ability to turn around failing schools is often hampered by bureaucratic red tape and politics. Florida allows the State Department of Education to intervene in low-performing schools and districts. Low-performing schools and districts are those that receive a grade of "F". State intervention in a school or district ends when student achievement in that school or district significantly increases. To allow for governance structures that streamline accountability at the local level, Florida should allow mayoral control of low-performing school districts.

Objective
Mayoral & State Control

Score (04)

Spend Taxpayer Resources Wisely to Improve Outcomes for Students

A B

GPA

2.00

D F

Given the limited resources available for public education, states must ensure that the dollars invested drive the greatest change. Florida allows districts to achieve cost efficiencies by purchasing through existing county contracts and likewise allows charter schools to purchase services from school districts. Florida's educational funding accountability law outlines financial reporting requirements, but the state should link spending to academic achievement to fully enable data-driven decisionmaking. Florida law should also provide for governance changes when resources are mismanaged. Finally, Florida should remove less effective classsize limits past the third grade and spending restrictions that limit flexibility.

Objective
Fiscal Transparency Management Alternatives Class Size

Score (04)

2 4 0

Make Teacher Pensions Portable and Fair

A B

GPA

2.00

D F

Attracting a high-quality workforce will require a competitive retirement plan. Portable retirement options, such as 401(k) plans, are an essential component of compensation packages and make the teaching profession more competitive. It is a classic win-win for teachers and districts. Under current policy, Florida provides two employer-sponsored retirement options for employees of traditional schools and certain public charter schools: a defined benefit plan and a portable defined contribution plan, referred to as the Florida Investment Plan. To provide the most career flexibility and ensure sustainability of the existing system, Florida should require all employees of traditional public schools to participate in the Florida Investment Plan and continue to make these options available to public charter schools.

Objective
Pension Reform

Score (04)

StudentsFirst is a bipartisan grassroots movement of more than 2 million members nationwide, working to focus our education system on whats best for students. Today, too many of Americas children are not getting the quality education they need and deserve. StudentsFirst is helping to change that with common sense reforms that help make sure all students have great schools and great teachers. We are working to ensure educators are valued for the critical role they 825 K Street, 2nd Floor Sacramento, CA 95814 Website: reportcard.studentsfirst.org Email: reportcard@studentsfirst.org play in kids lives, families have high-quality school choices and a real say in their childs education, and our tax dollars are spent wisely on what works for kids. Launched by former Washington D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee in December 2010, StudentsFirst has successfully helped pass more than 70 student-centered policies in 17 states, and our movement continues to grow. StudentsFirst 2013