Citizens Against Standardized Testing (CAST)

Graphic 1 Source: fldoe.org/core/fileparse…

Our flyer as featured in local newspapers. Get the word out to voters. There are more effective ways to budget tax dollars and spend class time than through testing sessions and materials. Portfolios can be compiled digitally. #SmartSpending #EffectiveTaxes

@FLAccountable The difference is that portfolios need not be evaluated all at once. Since they are longitudinal, they can be monitored throughout the year.

@NoTestFL Standardized testing might demand a lot of time within the school day, but portfolios require a larger time investment by the teacher. Given that teachers would have to assess each individual student, evaluations would drag on, giving teachers less time to prepare lessons.

Check out our recent promotional ads calling attention to the failings of standardized testing in Florida's schools! youtu.be/OxAWDu5R5gA

@FLAccountable It's true that tests can be graded quickly, but what purpose does such grading serve when its sole utility is for the score, and not to help students improve.

@NoTestFL What about the pay of those who are tasked with grading such portfolios? Tests can be graded objectively and quickly by a machine.

Couldn't have said it better.

Standardized testing is not supportive of student engagement. In a case study, implementing portfolios in a college physics classroom by Slater in 1997, students reported that they felt "relieved" and could "look at the holistic physics of a given situation. #Putstudentsfirst

@FLAccountable Comparison to other students is not a necessary marker of progress or proficiency. With strong standards, criterion-based forms of evaluation, like portfolio assessments give students the opportunity to demonstrate their unique skills and talents.

Alternative forms of assessment may seem enticing, but they don't offer a straightforward method of comparison. Testing works because it allows for a universal minimum level of competency to graduate. How can colleges ensure that students are prepared with respect to their peers?

@FLAccountable Roach may be out of touch with state standards, but he still demonstrates the missing link between tests and success. As a professional with multiple STEM degrees, he possesses the mathematics and communication foundations to succeed, evidently not from standardized testing.

@NoTestFL Just because an adult who graduated from the public school system decades ago is not familiar with standards does not mean that tests are flawed. Standards change. Roach may not need some of the core math skills for his work, but that does not make them irrelevant to students.

Not only do Florida's standardized tests waste time, they're also poorly written. Orange County School Board Member Rick Roach, who holds two masters degrees and has a large amount of management experience, failed 10th grade tests in math and reading. washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-s…

Affirmation, again, that alternative forms of student assessment offer a better route for student education and development. When will Florida learn? #NoTest

This is how many tests students in Florida had to take in 2015 (FLDOE). Why such a complicated system? Switch to portfolios, where students' progress is measured clearly and as a whole. #NoChildLeftBehindisover #Studentsaremorethannumbers

With #FSA #testing starting this week, I thought I should remind everyone of a few of things about #kids that standardized testing doesn't measure. My #students are more than a test. #teaching #teachers #education

Florida bases many important decisions on students' test scores, including students' ability to graduate and pass their grade. An entire year evaluated in a few hours time. How is that comprehensive? Make evaluation long-term instead. #Portfolios #PeopleGrow

Attached is the original report: fldoe.org/core/fileparse…

Did You Know? According to an internal investigation by the FLDOE, students spend 10-13 hours taking state exams each year! That time could have gone to extracurricular enrichment or expansions on class content. Instead, it's spent sitting in an isolated room. #PoorTimeManagement

Join the movement for an alternative to Florida's claustrophobic and ineffective system of testing! Evaluations through portfolio and performance-based assessments provide a route for a more critical education for Florida's best and brightest. #alternativeevaluation