Education in Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the state of Florida, public primary and secondary schools are administered by the Florida Department of Education.
Florida's public-school revenue per student and spending per $1000 of personal income usually rank in the bottom 25 percent of U.S. states.[1][2] Average teacher salaries rank near the middle of U.S. states.[3]
Florida public schools have consistently ranked in the bottom 25 percent of many national surveys and average test-score rankings.[4] Former Governor Jeb Bush has been criticized by many Florida educators for a program that penalizes underperforming schools (as indicated by standardized tests, most prominently the FCAT) with fewer funding dollars. Supporters say the program's tough measures have resulted in vast improvements to the education system. Major testing organizations frequently discount the use of state's average test-score rankings, or any average of scaled scores, as a valid metric (for details on scaled test scores, see psychometrics).
In 2007, the state's school population grew by 477 students to 2,641,598, which was far below the projected 48,376 increase. School boards blamed rising insurance and property tax costs and the major 2004 and 2005 hurricane season, which have discouraged migration into Florida. Growth in counties such as Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Hillsborough, Orange, Pinellas, and Duval counties was under state projections. Hillsborough County was the only one of these to have grown; growth in the county was projected to be 4,537, but the actual increase was only 536 students.[5]
The State University System of Florida manages and funds Florida's eleven public universities:
In 2000, the governor and the state legislature abolished the Florida Board of Regents, which long had governed the State University System of Florida, and created boards of trustees to govern each university. As is typical of executive-appointed government boards, the appointees so far have predominantly belonged to the governor's party. This effect has not been without controversy.[6] In 2002, former governor and then-U.S. Senator Bob Graham (Dem.) led a constitutional-amendment ballot referendum designed to restore the board-of-regents system. Voters responded by creating the Florida Board of Governors; however, each university still maintains a Board of Trustees which work under the Board of Governors. During Florida's 2007 legislative session, Governor Charlie Crist signed into law SB-1710, which allowed the Board of Governors to allow a tuition differential for the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida. This legislation ultimately created a tier system for higher education in Florida's State University System.[7]
Supplementing the state's public university system is a network of 28 community colleges,with over 100 locations throughout the state.[8] One community college, Miami-Dade College, is the second-largest degree-granting institution in the United States, with over 54,000 students enrolled, and Broward Community College is among the 50 largest colleges and universities.[9]
Florida has many private universities as well, the largest of which are Nova Southeastern University, University of Miami, Saint Leo University, and Barry University. The "Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida", a group representing 28 private colleges and universities, reported that their member institutions served over 121,000 students in the fall of 2005.[10]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "Elementary-Secondary Per Pupil Expenditure Amounts by State:2004-05", Public Education Finances 2005, U.S. Census Bureau, April 2007, p. 8, <http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/school/05f33pub.pdf>. Retrieved on 2007-09-13
- ^ Table 12:States Ranked According to Relation of Elementary-Secondary Public School System Finance Amounts to $1,000 Personal Income:2004-2005 (XLS). U.S.Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2007-09-13.
- ^ Teacher Pay Review, Florida Department of Education, May 2006, <http://www.fldoe.org/ARM/files/Teacher_Pay_Review.pdf>. Retrieved on 2007-09-13
- ^ Matus, Ron,. "Schools still rank near the bottom", St. Petersburg Times, 6 March 2005. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Comparison of 2006-07 third calculation FTE with projected 2006-07 FTE and 2005-06 FTE. Florida Department of Education. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Klein, Barry. "Bush's trustees mostly in GOP", St. Petersburg Times, 8 May 2001. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Zaragosa, Luis. "Tuition will jump at 3 universities", Orlando Sentinel, 28 June 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-05.
- ^ Florida Community Colleges. Florida Department of Education. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
- ^ Enrollment of the 120 largest degree-granting college and university campuses, by selected characteristics and institution: Fall 2005. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved on 2007-09-14.
- ^ Atherton, Blair (August 2006), 2005-2006 Accountability Report: Quality, Productivity, Diversity, and Access, <http://www.icuf.org/_docs/2005-2006_Acct_Report.pdf>. Retrieved on 2007-09-14
