Monthly Archives: January 2018

Anyone who cares about the economic future of Florida’s children should take a serious look at this morning’s Orlando Sentinel op-ed on the nation’s H1-B visa policy by YuKong Zhao. This is the core of Zhao’s argument for expanding the H1-B visa … Continue reading →

During the next few months, a few thousand fortunate high school seniors and their parents will be deciding whether to attend Florida State University or the University of Florida to prepare for careers in science, engineering or health professions. While … Continue reading →

During a recent session of my small Catholic Bible study group, a newcomer bragged about the “evolutionist” he had shouted down at work. In the preceding months, everybody else in the group had accepted my profession as a physics professor … Continue reading →

I had a very interesting Twitter exchange with Polk School Board member Billy Townsend today.  He asked lots of good questions, and it was clear that trying to respond on Twitter would not work.  In fact, what’s really required to … Continue reading →

After Florida’s middle school students performed poorly on the 2015 NAEP math exam, the 2017 legislature authorized a study to examine what the states with the highest performing middle school students were doing differently from Florida. That report has now … Continue reading →

Last week, the FSU Board of Trustees approved a new bachelor’s degree program in mechanical engineering at the Panama City campus.  As the Panama City News-Herald reported, the program is intended to provide engineers needed for growth at Eastern Shipbuilding, GKN Aerospace … Continue reading →

Kathleen Passidomo is worried about the shortage of K-12 computer science teachers in Florida.  Passidomo is also chair of the Florida Senate’s PreK-12 Appropriations Subcommittee.  So when she decided to write a bill addressing the shortage of computer science teachers, … Continue reading →

My op-ed on replacing Florida’s high school-level FSA exams on math and English language arts with the ACT or SAT was published in the Orlando Sentinel this morning. The op-ed addresses a study of the topic – sort of – released by … Continue reading →

Leon County’s Chiles High School does the best job preparing its students for college majors in STEM fields among 35 Northwest Florida public high schools with 100 or more 12th graders, according to an index calculated using enrollment rates for … Continue reading →

For the 2017-18 school year, Seminole and Brevard Counties are again ranked first and second in Florida for how well they prepare students for college majors in STEM fields. The STEM Career Prep Index accounts for the rates at which … Continue reading →