High-stakes testing on the minds of school leaders

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COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- Deirdre Clemons’ three children are in their second year in the Collier County School System.

“The testing is a problem, there’s a lot of focus on the testing which makes a lot of dropout for class time as far as learning,” said Clemons.

She says the stress testing puts on her kids, makes her consider home-schooling.

“But the kids really like being with their friends and they love the music programs and the P.E. programs.”

Parents and school board members across Southwest Florida have similar concerns when it comes to state-mandated tests.

School board members tell WINK News testing is on their agenda.

“So we as a school board can determine which ones of these tests are necessary, are all of them necessary, are some of them not, so we can hopefully reduce the classroom time that is being taken away,” said Erika Donalds.

The issue is expected to be a hot topic at this week’s Florida School Board Association’s Conference in Tampa. WINK News learned Lee County Superintendent Dr. Nancy Graham will speak at a session on Thursday that focuses on high stakes testing. Board member Kelly Lichter will also be there.

“I hope to be a voice to say we need to get back to what true education is all about and it’s not just passing a single state-mandated test,” said Lichter.

In just a few weeks, the Collier County School Board will debate the issue of state-mandated testing during a meeting. Trust WINK News to let you know what they decide.

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