*Florida Standards Assessment.

As you may know, HB 7069, passed under the leadership of then Speaker Richard Corcoran, included among its many provisions a requirement that the Department of Education begin releasing copies of actual exams beginning in 2019.

Recently, Grumpy Old Teacher (GOT) requested an update from the Florida Department of Education as to when we, the public, could expect to obtain those released copies of the actual FSAs administered to students.

Here is their reply:

Thank you for contacting Commissioner Richard Corcoran in the Florida Department of Education regarding released FSA exams. The Commissioner has received your message, and I have been asked to respond on his behalf.

Florida State Statute 1008.22(8) was recently amended to require the release of operational tests beginning with the next, new assessment contract. We, therefore, expect to begin releasing tests on a triennial basis (e.g., Grade 3 ELA Reading will be released once every three years) beginning with the spring 2021 administration.

When we get the next, new, bright and shiny test, whoever the vendor may be, the actual tests will be released once every three years beginning with 2021, which means we may see an actual test sometime in 2024, about 17 years after the practice ended with the first version of FCAT exams.

Until then, carry on and remember Understanding by Design, in which teachers plan lessons by first deciding what each standard requires, then determining how they will assess for student mastery, and only then planning lessons to deliver the content.

Oh, wait, something went wrong. If no one knows how the standards are being tested, then nobody really knows what they mean, and how can lessons ever target the desired understanding?

Maybe we should call it Misunderstanding by Design.