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"Today,
pigs
fly.
"Florida
ranks
No.
10
among
states
in
education
quality,
according
to
the
latest
annual
report
card
from
the
highly
regarded
Education
Week
newspaper.
"The
rankings,
released
this
morning,
are
based
on
six
broad
categories
—
including
student
achievement,
standards
and
accountability,
and
funding
—
and
dozens
of
specific
indicators,
such
as
licensing
requirements
for
teachers
and
scores
on
Advanced
Placement
exams
for
high
school
students.
"Florida
earned
a
B-
this
year,
up
from
a
C+
last
year.
The
national
average
is
a
C.
"In
three
years,
Florida
has
climbed
from
No.
31
to
No.
14
to
No.
10.
'"It's
extraordinary
news,'
Florida
Education
Commissioner
Eric
J.
Smith
said.
'This
is
a
very
credible
evaluation
of
state
performance
against
other
states.'
"Education
Week's
conclusion
comes
despite
the
fact
that
Florida
has
one
of
the
worst
graduation
rates
in
the
country
and
among
the
lowest
rates
of
per-pupil
funding.
It
also
clangs
off
a
perception,
ingrained
in
the
collective
psyche
of
Floridians,
that
their
schools
are
lame."
The
backdrop
for
the
rosy
report
couldn't
be
gloomier:
Lawmakers
are
in
special
session,
preparing
for
another
round
of
budget
cuts.
And
while
the
Legislature
cut
school
spending
for
the
first
time
in
decades
last
year,
even
bigger
cuts
appear
likely
when
it
meets
for
regular
session
in
March.
'We
are
at
a
tipping
point,'
Smith
said.
'The
next
round
(of
cuts)
is
going
to
be
very
challenging
…
to
keep
the
level
of
performance
and
achievement
continuing
to
move
in
the
direction
we
want
to
move
in.'"
"Education
Week
looked
at
not
only
graduation
rates
and
school
funding,
but
a
wide
range
of
state
policies
and
demographics;
the
quality
of
state
standards
and
testing
systems;
and
requirements
for
licensing
and
evaluating
teachers.
"Florida
scored
79.6
this
year.
That
put
it
behind
top
states
like
Maryland
and
Massachusetts,
but
ahead
of
states
with
arguably
better
education
reputations
like
Vermont
and
Minnesota.
"Mississippi,
Idaho
and
Nevada
fared
the
worst.
"In
school
finance,
Florida
got
a
C-,
ranking
41st
in
per-pupil
spending.
"In
K-12
achievement,
it
got
a
C,
despite
finishing
in
the
Top
10
in
9
of
18
categories.
(Education
Week
looked
at
overall
scores
and
improvement
over
time
and
narrowing
of
achievement
gaps
for
low-income
students.)
"Florida
got
an
A-
in
standards
and
accountability,
a
B
for
teacher-related
measures
and
a
C+
for
"transitions
and
alignment,"
which
covers
everything
from
preschool
standards
to
the
ability
of
high
school
students
to
earn
industry
certification.
"This
year's
report
included
a
state-by-state
look
at
the
achievement
of
students
who
are
learning
to
speak
English.
Florida
has
wide
achievement
gaps
between
those
students
and
their
English-speaking
peers,
but
the
gaps
in
Florida
are
smaller
than
the
national
average,
the
report
found.
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