View in EDS

The State of the Sunshine State Standards: Florida's B.E.S.T. Edition

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: The State of the Sunshine State Standards: Florida's B.E.S.T. Edition
Language: English
Authors: Friedberg, Solomon, Shanahan, Tim, Fennell, Francis, Fisher, Douglas, Howe, Roger, Thomas B. Fordham Institute
Source: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 2020.
Availability: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 1701 K Street NW Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-223-5452; Fax: 202-223-9226; e-mail: thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org; Web site: https://fordhaminstitute.org/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 50
Publication Date: 2020
Sponsoring Agency: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
Document Type: Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Early Childhood Education
Elementary Education
Kindergarten
Primary Education
Descriptors: Common Core State Standards, Academic Achievement, Benchmarking, Academic Standards, Difficulty Level, Educational Quality, Educational Improvement, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Educational Policy, Scoring, English, Language Arts, Mathematics Achievement, Mathematics Instruction, Kindergarten, State Standards, Politics of Education, Evaluation Criteria, Evaluators, Reading Comprehension, Criticism
Geographic Terms: Florida
Abstract: A decade ago, states across the nation adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in an effort to raise the academic bar for their students. This has provoked countless political battles since then--including an especially intense one in Florida. That fight culminated in Governor Ron DeSantis vowing to eliminate and replace the Common Core, and the state's Department of Education developing--and unveiling in February--new math and English language arts (ELA) standards. Dubbed Florida's B.E.S.T., which stands for Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking, DeSantis claims they're "a model for the rest of the nation." But is this true? Authored by Solomon Friedberg, Timothy Shanahan, Francis (Skip) Fennell, Douglas Fisher, and Roger Howe, The State of the Sunshine State's Standards: The Florida B.E.S.T. Edition evaluates the new standards for rigor, quality, and clarity. These subject-matter experts, who also conducted Fordham's review of state standards post--Common Core in 2018, used the same criteria to evaluate Florida's new standards. The results are disappointing. Each team independently rated both Florida's B.E.S.T. ELA and math standards as "weak." That means that reviewers recommend "significant and immediate revisions" and conclude that Florida's "standards are not suitable until and unless these revisions occur." Although the reviewers found several strengths in the state's new ELA standards--including effective development of the ability to read and interpret literary and informational texts and clear expectations around reading and understanding complex texts--they also found that the standards failed to address important aspects of ELA. For instance, they ignore disciplinary literacy (the specialized ability to read history, science, or technical materials in appropriate and sophisticated ways), the development of the ability to listen and participate in discussions, and the interpretation of multimedia information. In math, reviewers praise the detailed, topic-by-topic treatment of the subject and the appropriate emphases awarded to major content strands for both the elementary and middle grades. But the standards downplay conceptual understanding relative to procedural fluency, which could lead to students who are ill prepared to transfer what they are able to do into other contexts. The math standards also contained multiple technical errors. Rather than drawing from Florida's new B.E.S.T. standards, states looking for exemplar standards on which to model future revisions should look to other states, such as Indiana (for ELA) or Texas (for math) or to smart improvements that Massachusetts and California made several years ago to the Common Core. Policymakers in Florida should work to improve critical gaps and weaknesses in their new standards as soon as possible. Simply put, these standards are not yet ready for prime time. [Foreword by Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli.]
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2020
Accession Number: ED606003
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
CustomLinks:
  – Url: https://eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED606003
    Name: ERIC Full Text
    Category: fullText
    Text: Full Text from ERIC
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: ED606003
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Report
PubTypeId: report
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: The State of the Sunshine State Standards: Florida's B.E.S.T. Edition
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Friedberg%2C+Solomon%22">Friedberg, Solomon</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Shanahan%2C+Tim%22">Shanahan, Tim</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fennell%2C+Francis%22">Fennell, Francis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fisher%2C+Douglas%22">Fisher, Douglas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Howe%2C+Roger%22">Howe, Roger</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Thomas+B%2E+Fordham+Institute%22">Thomas B. Fordham Institute</searchLink>
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Thomas+B%2E+Fordham+Institute%22"><i>Thomas B. Fordham Institute</i></searchLink>. 2020.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: Thomas B. Fordham Institute. 1701 K Street NW Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20006. Tel: 202-223-5452; Fax: 202-223-9226; e-mail: thegadfly@fordhaminstitute.org; Web site: https://fordhaminstitute.org/
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: N
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 50
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: SourceSuprt
  Label: Sponsoring Agency
  Group: SrcSuprt
  Data: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation<br />Thomas B. Fordham Foundation
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Reports - Evaluative
– Name: Audience
  Label: Education Level
  Group: Audnce
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Secondary+Education%22">Elementary Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Early+Childhood+Education%22">Early Childhood Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Kindergarten%22">Kindergarten</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Primary+Education%22">Primary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Common+Core+State+Standards%22">Common Core State Standards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+Achievement%22">Academic Achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Benchmarking%22">Benchmarking</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+Standards%22">Academic Standards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Difficulty+Level%22">Difficulty Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Quality%22">Educational Quality</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Improvement%22">Educational Improvement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Change%22">Educational Change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+Secondary+Education%22">Elementary Secondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+Policy%22">Educational Policy</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scoring%22">Scoring</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22English%22">English</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Arts%22">Language Arts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mathematics+Achievement%22">Mathematics Achievement</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mathematics+Instruction%22">Mathematics Instruction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Kindergarten%22">Kindergarten</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22State+Standards%22">State Standards</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Politics+of+Education%22">Politics of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evaluation+Criteria%22">Evaluation Criteria</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Evaluators%22">Evaluators</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reading+Comprehension%22">Reading Comprehension</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Criticism%22">Criticism</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Florida%22">Florida</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: A decade ago, states across the nation adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in an effort to raise the academic bar for their students. This has provoked countless political battles since then--including an especially intense one in Florida. That fight culminated in Governor Ron DeSantis vowing to eliminate and replace the Common Core, and the state's Department of Education developing--and unveiling in February--new math and English language arts (ELA) standards. Dubbed Florida's B.E.S.T., which stands for Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking, DeSantis claims they're "a model for the rest of the nation." But is this true? Authored by Solomon Friedberg, Timothy Shanahan, Francis (Skip) Fennell, Douglas Fisher, and Roger Howe, The State of the Sunshine State's Standards: The Florida B.E.S.T. Edition evaluates the new standards for rigor, quality, and clarity. These subject-matter experts, who also conducted Fordham's review of state standards post--Common Core in 2018, used the same criteria to evaluate Florida's new standards. The results are disappointing. Each team independently rated both Florida's B.E.S.T. ELA and math standards as "weak." That means that reviewers recommend "significant and immediate revisions" and conclude that Florida's "standards are not suitable until and unless these revisions occur." Although the reviewers found several strengths in the state's new ELA standards--including effective development of the ability to read and interpret literary and informational texts and clear expectations around reading and understanding complex texts--they also found that the standards failed to address important aspects of ELA. For instance, they ignore disciplinary literacy (the specialized ability to read history, science, or technical materials in appropriate and sophisticated ways), the development of the ability to listen and participate in discussions, and the interpretation of multimedia information. In math, reviewers praise the detailed, topic-by-topic treatment of the subject and the appropriate emphases awarded to major content strands for both the elementary and middle grades. But the standards downplay conceptual understanding relative to procedural fluency, which could lead to students who are ill prepared to transfer what they are able to do into other contexts. The math standards also contained multiple technical errors. Rather than drawing from Florida's new B.E.S.T. standards, states looking for exemplar standards on which to model future revisions should look to other states, such as Indiana (for ELA) or Texas (for math) or to smart improvements that Massachusetts and California made several years ago to the Common Core. Policymakers in Florida should work to improve critical gaps and weaknesses in their new standards as soon as possible. Simply put, these standards are not yet ready for prime time. [Foreword by Amber M. Northern and Michael J. Petrilli.]
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2020
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: ED606003
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=ED606003
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 50
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Common Core State Standards
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic Achievement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Benchmarking
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Academic Standards
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Difficulty Level
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Quality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Improvement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Change
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Elementary Secondary Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Educational Policy
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Scoring
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: English
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Arts
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mathematics Achievement
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mathematics Instruction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Kindergarten
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: State Standards
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Politics of Education
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Evaluation Criteria
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Evaluators
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Reading Comprehension
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Criticism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Florida
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The State of the Sunshine State Standards: Florida's B.E.S.T. Edition
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Thomas B. Fordham Institute
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Friedberg, Solomon
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Shanahan, Tim
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Fennell, Francis
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Fisher, Douglas
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Howe, Roger
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Type: published
              Y: 2020
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Thomas B. Fordham Institute
              Type: main
ResultId 1