TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — If Gov. Ron DeSantis puts pen to paper, the end of the Florida Standards Assessments will be set in stone.
On Thursday, Florida House members passed SB 1048 and sent it to DeSantis' office for approval or veto. The governor said last year the new assessment standards would be a "priority" of the legislative session.
The bill not only gets rid of the FSA but outlines the new assessments that would replace it beginning in the 2022-23 school year, which would be used as a "baseline" for statewide testing going forward.
Back in September, DeSantis announced the FSA will stop being given in Florida schools after the 2021-22 school year. At the time he said the system would be replaced with "progress monitoring."
The bill outlines this "progress monitoring" as standardized English Language Arts (ELA) assessments for students in grades 3 through 10. And, standardized math assessments will be required for students in grades 3 through 8.
In order for students to graduate from high school, they must pass the grade 10 ELA or pass during a retake, according to the bill.
Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, who on Thursday announced he would be leaving, in the past has called the FSA "antiquated" and said that was made clear to the Florida Department of Education during the 2020-21 school year.
Students were not required to take state exams in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic when Florida schools were virtual or hybrid learning. Corcoran said not having the last part of the school year focused on the FSA actually helped students.
Corcoran also said at the time the change would save the state "millions" in testing fees.
Since 2015, FSA standardized testing has been used to measure English and math progress in Florida school children. While a Statewide Science Assessment is still used for grades 5-8, the FSA essentially replaced the FCAT or Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.