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Florida Gets A C-Minus In Study

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The Associated Press

Published: January 30, 2009

WASHINGTON - States are not doing what it takes to keep good teachers and remove bad ones, a national study has found.

Only Iowa and New Mexico require any evidence that public school teachers are effective before granting them tenure, according to the review, released Thursday by the National Council on Teacher Quality, a Washington-based nonpartisan group.

States were given letter grades in the study, earning a D-plus on average.

With an overall grade of C-, Florida finished eighth best in the council's rankings, tying with Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, North Carolina, Washingon and West Virginia.

"While Florida is making progress toward meeting some of our goals, significant room for improvement remains in many others," the report said.

The group gave Florida a C in identifying effective teachers, a C-minus in retaining effective teachers and a C-minus in getting rid of ineffective teachers.

The group gave its highest overall mark, a B-minus, to South Carolina, saying the state does better than any other at allowing ineffective teachers to be fired.

The rest of the states earned C's or worse. Five earned F's.

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