TALLAHASSEE
Gov. Rick Scott today directed state education officials to withdraw from a national testing consortium designed to evaluate how Florida students perform under the new Common Core standards for math and reading.
Gov. Rick Scott
In a letter to state Board of Education Chairman Gary Chartrand, Scott also asked the board to hold a series of public hearings where officials would take comments on improving the Common Core standards and identifying any “risks for federal intrusion” from the standards, which have been adopted by 45 states.
Scott’s action comes following an education summit and after mounting criticism from conservative groups, including Tea Party activists, over the Common Core standards, which opponents say could lead to a greater federal role in state schools.
“While the debate surrounding Common Core Standards has become polarized into a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ discussion, we heard during the education summit that most education leaders agreed on two things,” Scott said in a statement. “We agree that we should say ‘yes’ to high standards for Florida students and ‘no’ to the federal government’s overreach into our education system.
“Therefore, I notified the federal government that Florida would be withdrawing from PARCC(the testing consortium), and at the same time we will hold public comment sessions to receive input on any alterations that should be made to the current Common Core standards. We are committed to maintaining high standards for our students."
