Did they really say that? Yes, they did. Florida’s Department of Education, in announcing the governor’s decision to keep schools closed through the end of the year, concluded the press release with this sentence:

In March, FDOE also announced the cancellation of spring 2020 state assessments, meaning that schools gained back instructional time that will allow local districts and schools to still end the school year based on their local calendars.

http://www.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/florida-extends-distance-learning-through-remainder-of-academic-year.stml

What a startling admission by the state that prides itself on leading the nation in data-driven, soul-crushing, profiteering, privatizing, faux-accountability, school grading, testing, testing, testing, presidential campaign-promoting (oh, wait, that one didn’t work out–please clap,) educational reform.

Canceling testing means that we get back instructional time.

Canceling testing means that we get back instructional time.

Canceling testing means that we get back instructional time.

Don’t react with the well-worn Homer Simpson response, “Duh!”

Live in the moment when the Department of Education admits that testing steals time for instruction.

And then ask yourself which you would rather have.