The FCAT Doesn’t Seem so Bad Anymore

On March 10,2010, the Senate’s “Bill Six” was passed.  This bill is basically replacing the FCAT with federal tests.  It’s not only the FCAT that they’re taking away either.  The bill is taking away all state taxes and putting federal tests into place for students nationwide.  So, what does this mean for you and our teachers?  

What this means for the teachers:

 The teachers, in my opinion, are affected the most by this bill. The bill puts teachers in a position to only be paid based on the students test scores, and not years of experience.  Teachers must be certified and re-trained  based on the student’s test scores.  The bill will do away with state payments for national board certified teachers.  Also, if a state tries to pay its teachers based on years of experience, then the state will lose funding. 

What this means for the students:

 The students right now are probably thinking that this is going to be great, no more FCAT! Well, it’s not such a good thing after all.  No more FCAT means that there will actually be more tests, one test for each of the four major subjects.  That translates into one test for math, science, history, and language arts.   

My opinion:

 In my opinion, this bill wasn’t well thought out.  I am pretty sure that the teachers don’t like it, and I know the students don’t like it. So if we, teachers and students, don’t like it, then why should it even be an idea?

To read more about this, Click Here  

 Please leave a comment telling me what you think about this new bill, is it fair? Does it make things better for learning or worse? Are teachers being treated unfairly or does this measure protect education from complacent teachers?

by Sam H.