SB 964 - Education Accountability Summary

• Eliminates end-of-course (EOC) assessments in Geometry, Algebra II, United States History, and Civics, retaining only Algebra I and Biology I EOC assessments for high school graduation requirements.

• Authorizes school districts to select nationally recognized high school assessments (such as SAT or ACT) as alternatives to the Florida Standards Assessment for grade 10 English Language Arts, with assessments available by 2018-2019 school year.

• Removes grade 9 Florida Standards Assessment requirement and revises statewide Reading assessment administration to grades 3-8 and grade 10 only.

• Provides nonelectronic (paper-based) option for administering ELA, Mathematics, Algebra I, and Biology I assessments to reduce instructional disruption and allow more classroom time.

• Modifies teacher and administrator evaluation systems to reduce emphasis on assessment results, with at least one-third based on student performance data rather than requiring performance evaluations to be primarily driven by standardized assessments.