Become the First State in the Nation to Fully Transition to Progress Monitoring

This week, Governor Ron DeSantis announced a legislative proposal that will eliminate the common-core based, end-of-year, high-stakes Florida Statewide Assessment and create the new Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.) plan, which will monitor student progress and foster individual growth. Educators, parents, education organizations and leaders from across the state applauded the announcement.

“As a teacher, I am thrilled about this announcement and the change happening with assessments in Florida,” said

Florida

“Progress monitoring is essential for students and educators. Teachers will have the opportunity to immediately adjust their instruction to meet the needs of Florida’s students. This is the change our students deserve!” “Learning is not something that happens at a set point in time; it occurs through a sequence of interactions, communication, and exploration with the instructional content,” said

Dakeyan Teacher Graham, 2020 of the Year. Dr. Florida

apply supports to their developing world changers, instead of one that serves as a singularity in identifying whether or not achievement has occurred.” “As a teacher it is not only necessary, but paramount that I be able to track my students’ academic progress and growth across the entire school year,” said

“Having a progress monitoring tool that aligns to the standards will be instrumental in helping me and other teachers across Florida become more effective in the classroom. Through intentional planning using data this tool will provide, we will be able to make calculated decisions about what type of instruction will work best for our students. I would like to thank the Florida Department of Education for helping children learn and teachers teach!” “As a product of the Florida school system, I benefited from Florida’s strong accountability model that was implemented when I was a student in the 1990s,” said

Christie Bassett, Teacher of the Year. 2015 Florida

“As an educator, I utilize assessments to inform instruction and tailor content to each student’s academic needs. Florida’s continued progression of instructional measures and focus on student-centered outcomes is an exciting step as we work together towards an even brighter Sunshine State.” “Students in Florida classrooms today will be our world changers, problem solvers, and leaders of tomorrow,” said

Megan Crombie, 2020 Florida State University Schools District Teacher of the Year and Florida Teacher of the Year Finalist.

a parent, I am excited about the advancements in store for our state and I look forward to an accountability system that will put students first.” “A statewide progress monitoring tool is EXACTLY what we need right now,” said

“With the transition to the B.E.S.T. standards, the window of opportunity to close the achievement gap is at hand. This tool will allow us to make instructional decisions in real-time rather than collecting data as a culminating task. The accountability this will give to both teachers and students to help inform instruction is of upmost importance for student success.” “Florida continues to innovate by implementing a new progress monitoring system that is aligned with the B.E.S.T. standards,” said

Carrie Wilson, 2021 Hamilton County District Teacher of the Year

.“I am excited that teachers, students, and parents will be able to frequently evaluate student learning with an understandable measurement system. Teachers will be able to monitor the effectiveness of their instruction and make changes, if necessary, to improve academic progress. I believe with the development of this new system by Florida experts, Florida will continue to lead the way with high quality education making us the most literate state in the nation.” “Eliminating the FSA is a monumental push forward for educators and students,” said

Sarah Hall, 2020 Seminole County District Teacher of the Year.