DeSantis calls for end to standardized testing in Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Tuesday that the state would replace the “outdated” Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) with a progress monitoring system that periodically evaluates student performance. 

“Florida’s education focus should be students’ growth and how we restore the conversation between parents and teachers in support of students’ growth,” DeSantis said in a press release about the change. 

The new proposed system would include three shorter tests in the fall, winter and spring in an effort to assess students in “real-time” rather than with a single, longer exam. The new program will require 75 percent less testing time than the FSA testing model, according to the governor’s announcement on Tuesday morning. 

“We believe that having results monitored and measured is very, very important. But we also think that the FSA is outmoded at this point and that we need to move forward with a more, I’d say, nimble and effective approach,” DeSantis said at Doral Academy Preparatory School on Tuesday.

Florida is the “Education State.” Today I announced our plan to make Florida the first state to fully transition to progress monitoring.

No more FSA testing. No more Common Core. https://t.co/hgFjKLfVig

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) September 14, 2021

DeSantis made the announcement alongside Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, who called the FSA testing “antiquated” and lauded the change as a “huge victory for the school system.” 

DeSantis said that while the legislation still needs to be worked on, support for it was strong. He added that he is hopeful to have new legislation fully implemented by the 2022-2023 school year.