Monthly Archives: September 2016

It may be difficult to believe or accept, but even though it’s not quite October yet it’s not too soon for the parents of 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th graders to be thinking about what courses their students should be … Continue reading →

As Florida’s Board of Governors considers the future of classrooms in the State University System, members can focus on either saving money or on improving student learning in fields that provide economic opportunity. Of course, I hope they choose to … Continue reading →

In a presentation to the Facilities Committee of the Florida Board of Governors at their meeting last week, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Finance and Facilities Chris Kinsley said that the system’s new emphasis on online learning is reducing the need … Continue reading →

Of the students in Florida’s high school graduating class of 2016, 81% took the ACT.  Twenty-two other states had ACT participation rates higher than Florida’s, including eighteen where the exam was required for all high school students.  It’s fair to … Continue reading →

A significant amount of funding for Florida’s State University System (SUS) institutions is now distributed using a performance-based funding program that financially rewards institutions for addressing some of the state’s policy priorities. The state’s two “preeminent” (and oldest) public institutions … Continue reading →

Parents who attended Tuesday’s Bay County Future Physicists of Florida induction ceremony at Florida State University’s Panama City Campus with their children asked me one question over and over again:  What’s next? The answer to that question is this:  Bay … Continue reading →

Ed Moore’s op-ed last week awakened my inner Donald Trump. Ed is the President of Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida and a frequent commentator on Florida politics.  His op-ed, published in several newspapers around the state (here’s the link … Continue reading →

During UWF’s just-completed Presidential search, there was lots of discussion about whether Florida’s performance-based funding program – championed by the candidate who ultimately came in second – was especially hurting UWF. One of the metrics in the program, the percentage … Continue reading →

We generally expect that high schools with lower SES students teach less physics than high schools with higher SES students. And often that expectation is wrong. Like in Leon County. The plots of physics enrollment rates below show that Godby … Continue reading →

If you think careers in technology are just for the top third of students (or fewer), you are wrong.  During the last month, Gulf Coast State College and Florida Keys Community College have provided some great examples of how the … Continue reading →