DeSantis reveals plan to end FSA

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday, Sept. 14, revealed his plan to eliminate the Florida Standards Assessment.

DeSantis announced plans for legislation to end the FSA during a news conference held in Doral. The legislation would have to pass the Florida Legislature.

“If we’re successful, this 2021-22 school year would be the final year that the FSA is administered in the state of Florida,” he said.

During the conference, DeSantis called the FSA outdated and said it took days to administer, which takes time away from learning. Furthermore, because it is administered at the end of the school year, it doesn’t leave any time to react to the results.

The FSA would be replaced with progress monitoring — short, individualized assessments that would be administered three times a year (fall, winter and spring), DeSantis said.

“This will take hours — not days — to be able to do these assessments,” DeSantis said. “There will be 75% less time for testing...It also informs teachers in real time during the school year, so that they can better help students.”

The Florida Education Association applauded the change.

“The FEA looks forward to continuing to work on how Florida assesses K-12 students and teachers, so we can get it right in the long term,” FEA President Andrew Spar said. “This is a great opportunity to address how we can use progress-monitoring assessments to best serve students.”