[pianogal]

Not according to an article in today's Orlando sentinel. The numbers show a different story - Florida students outpaced children in other states in reading and math. For example, Florida's 10th graders test scores rates as well or better than 71% of students in other states. Florida students in every grade rated an average of 60 points higher in reading and math than the national average.

These results were not from the controversial FCAT but from the Stanford 10 tests which is design to make cross state comparison. Obviously, you have to compare individual schools at the local level. I want to say congratulations and thank you to our hard working school teachers. You do a great job!

[spainbrit]

I agree - I am happy with them. There can be frustrations, but I like what we have here in Seminole and St Pete.

[sunrico90]

Not really, they are very good, the ones in Santa Rosa County are great..

My children graduated from public schools in Santa Rosa County, one is doing great, now a manager and my 2nd one is completing a degree locally. As parent we were involved and understood the school requirements and our kids also had to be responsible to the rules. Some other families show low interest in attending school meetings and getting involve in the academic needs of the school.

Many times we blame the lack of involvement by parents in the schools. If the parents took the time to place the best foot forward and make a difference, their children will also be able to succeed.

I can't say that is a perfect system, because I don't know of any. Do to my military assignments my kids attended schools overseas (DODDS), Satellite Beach, San Antonio TX, Grand Forks ND, and Santa ROsa County.

I have many friends that their children graduated and are now productive members of our community, some continue and completed a college degree, other became took a job and also succeeded.

A large portion of the success of any school system is the parents involvement and many times we lack such support.

[SoFLGal]

I'm very happy with the school my children attend as well-Pine View in Osprey-Sarasota County. With so much negativity on this board it's nice to see something positive. Thanks for posting

[songgirl]

The schools in St. Johns County are also worth bragging about. Three high schools in the county were ranked in the top 500 schools in the nation this year. I have been very impressed with the dedication and involvement of both teachers and parents here.

Our teachers in this state are doing a fabulous job. I think that Florida is ranked 49th or somewhere very close to the bottom in regards to expenditure per student, yet test scores continue to rise in many areas.

To all you teachers and parents who really care about the education of our kids, THANK YOU!

[Retiredcoach]

Years ago in the days of the "adjustable odometer", my late father was a used car salesman. When my uncle called to ask about a particular Chevy, he wanted to know, "How many miles are on the car?" My dad's response was, "How many miles do you want on the car?"

As a teacher, I view the value of many "normed" test scores in the same light as an accurate odometer to the old time car salesman... they can be what you want them to be. The SAT 10 is a quick and easy test to administer. It is not timed, and the student can have as much time to complete it as desired. Many of the learning disabled students in our region test in the "average" range on the SAT 10, and yet, perform very poorly on most other tests. In other words, it is a test that is more of a "feel good" test, as opposed to being reliable and/or valid (although Harcourt would dispute this) .

I guess there is a certain cynicism that I garner from words of the politician/ school administrator/realtor/financial planner/test maker who benefit directly from translating meaningless data to "a normed result". The FCAT and PSSA (of Pa.) serve the same purposes. My gut feeling is/was that certain Florida schools were probably not as bad as might have been believed years ago nor as good as what is being portrayed today.

The best or worst schools in a region, state or country cannot, nor should not, be judged by tests of dubious value. The number of advanced placement tests taken (not scores achieved) .... as with the recent Newsweek ratings ... are also lousy ways to rate the quality of your child's school. The real quality of a school is the education received by each child that will prepare him/her for college and/or life's work. Hopefully, Florida schools are improving and will continue to offer excellent educations to the students of its schools. The propaganda says that they are, but should they be believed?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

The best or worst schools in a region, state or country cannot, nor should not, be judged by tests of dubious value. The number of advanced placement tests taken (not scores achieved) .... as with the recent Newsweek ratings ... are also lousy ways to rate the quality of your child's school. The real quality of a school is the education received by each child that will prepare him/her for college and/or life's work. Hopefully, Florida schools are improving and will continue to offer excellent educations to the students of its schools. The propaganda says that they are, but should they be believed?

I went to a SOUTH Florida high school and I got everything I needed to prepare me for real life and then some. I'm doing pretty well for myself too and I don't know where I would be without the advice and lessons that I learned in my high school. I went to middle school in another state and I wasn't ahead when I got to Florida. I guess it depends on the individual school and personal experience. I agree that the tests should be taken with a grain of salt, although the Stanford standard is pretty good, look it up. Some private schools use it as an entrance exam.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by pianogal

Not according to an article in today's Orlando sentinel. The numbers show a different story - Florida students outpaced children in other states in reading and math. For example, Florida's 10th graders test scores rates as well or better than 71% of students in other states. Florida students in every grade rated an average of 60 points higher in reading and math than the national average.

These results were not from the controversial FCAT but from the Stanford 10 tests which is design to make cross state comparison. Obviously, you have to compare individual schools at the local level. I want to say congratulations and thank you to our hard working school teachers. You do a great job!

Our daughter is the product of private (up to 8th) and public (high school). She was challenged and when she went out of state to college (Vanderbilt), she was right there as far as grades and being in the mix. She graduated with a 3.75 GPA so if that tells you anything.

She had excellent teachers at the high school level who were encouraging and challenged her. Several of these same teachers coached the golf team she was on, water polo and other after school activities. I personally thought she had a great experience. No regrets.

[Retiredcoach]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I went to a SOUTH Florida high school and I got everything I needed to prepare me for real life and then some. I'm doing pretty well for myself too and I don't know where I would be without the advice and lessons that I learned in my high school. I went to middle school in another state and I wasn't ahead when I got to Florida. I agree that the tests should be taken with a grain of salt, although the Stanford standard is pretty good, look it up.

No question that the Cambridge Standard is considered a quality test. It was not the quality of the test that I questioned. Newsweek did not utilize the scores earned on the test. Instead, the writer used a ratio value based upon the number of students TAKING the test. In other words, the more students taking the test meant higher rankings for the high school. IMO, meaningless numbers are utilized for a flawed premise of school quality.

I don't know much about South Florida High School. Is this one of Florida's higher rated schools (based on FCAT's)? Would your kids find success there today?

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Retiredcoach

I don't know much about South Florida High School. Is this one of Florida's higher rated schools (based on FCAT's)? Would your kids find success there today?

I was just saying that I went to A high school in South Florida. South Florida doesn't have a good reputation even within Florida, but what I am saying is that the particular school I went to was safe, had mostly caring teachers (and a couple of bad ones too) and worked pretty well for me. As far as whether my kids would have success there or not, I don't know, but the principal was just named "principal of the year" and seems to be trying to steer it in the right direction after the nosedive it took when another new school (which my kids WOULD find success in although it became MASSIVELY overcrowded) opened in my community. I still live near the same community that I spent my high school years in. I moved to Orlando for a really short time and came running back down south.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that it depends on the individual school and experience, no matter where the school is or how high or low it's test scores are, and my personal experience ended up being pretty good in a region known for bad experiences, although this particular school was known for good experiences.