Lawmakers: Drop rule that high schoolers pass algebra, English exams to get diplomas

For more than 40 years, Florida’s public high school students have needed to pass state language arts and math exams to graduate. Now, as more students struggle to pass the tests and the bar is set to get higher, some lawmakers want to scrap that requirement.

Nearly 43% of the class of 2024 graduated from high school without passing one or both of Florida’s high-stakes graduation exams that test Algebra 1 and 10th-grade language arts knowledge, state data shows. Instead, they got diplomas by substituting failing scores on those state tests with passing marks on other exams.

Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, is pushing the change — as he did unsuccessfully last year. His bill (SB 166) would mean students would not have to pass those two tests to graduate, though scores from the exams would figure into their final course grades.

The bill, which has received two unanimous, favorable votes this month, comes as national test scores last year showed Florida students’ academic achievement was declining, and so it worries some education advocates.

Simon thinks eliminating the test as a high school graduation requirement would make public schools more competitive with private schools, which have no such requirements.

“Our public school education system is a choice for our families. It’s not a default setting in our education system, it is a choice,” he said last week.

The Senate passed Simon’s similar bill last year. But the measure failed when the House declined to take it up. The bill’s support in the House this year is not clear as no House lawmaker has filed a similar legislation, something that often happens when the full Legislature is in lock step.

Some educators, who’ve long disliked Florida’s use of high-stakes tests for key education decisions, back the change, saying it will reduce the testing burden on students. Administrators with Orange County Public Schools told lawmakers they support the bill, echoing Simon’s point that accountability should be the same for public schools as it is for private schools that accept state scholarships, often called vouchers.

Sharyn Battey, the president of PTA at Sterling Park Elementary in Seminole County, said she supported the bill because “decreasing testing is very important” for students.

“Our kids have testing anxiety, and I even hear on a student level … ‘I am so done with testing,’ and they get discouraged, and they feel down on themselves,” she said.

But critics worry such a change will hurt student achievement which — like it or not — is tracked by tests. Florida’s math scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress fell to their lowest mark in more than 20 years in 2024, with middle schoolers posting their worst scores in more than 25 years. Florida’s eighth-grade NAEP reading scores fell in 2024 too, with the state performing worse than 27 other states. The state’s score dropped below the national average score for the first time since 2015.

“Just point blank, this reduces student expectations at a time when the world is getting more competitive, not less,” said Nathan Hoffman, the senior legislative director for the Foundation for Florida’s Future, former Gov. Jeb Bush’s education group.

Scrapping graduation tests is a “bridge too far,” he said.

“We will not improve a single student outcome by making it easier to graduate from high school without having ever demonstrated an ability to have an eighth-grade-level math knowledge,” he added.

Florida needs to improve its math and language arts instruction, not make it easier to pass kids along, Hoffman said.

Florida lawmakers in 1976 first approved tying diplomas to passing scores on state math and reading exams. The tests got tougher when Bush became governor as he pushed for school accountability and improved student achievement.

High school seniors can substitute scores from other exams if they cannot pass the state ones. Now, many students use scores on the SAT or ACT college readiness tests to earn their diplomas.

Last year, 83,650 seniors used that path. Students who cannot pass algebra 1, for example, can earn a diploma if they score a 420 on the SAT math section, which has a top score of 800.

The number of students who used these substitute scores increased 12 percentage points from 2019 to 2024, state data shows.

The ranks of students failing state exams soon could grow. Next year, 12th graders need to earn higher marks to pass the state’s exams.

The State Board of Education approved a new scoring system in 2023, and it kicks in for the class of 2026. At the time Education Commissioner Manny Diaz said the state wanted to “raise the bar and continue to move our students forward.”

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami, said he voted for the bill because he want to reduce students’ testing load, but said the state’s decline in math scores worries him.

Last year, 55% of first-time test takers passed the state’s Algebra 1 exam compared to 62% in 2019, according to state data. Florida’s SAT math score dropped eight points last year, with its average score among the lowest for the ten states that, like Florida, test more than 90% of their graduating seniors.

“We have a math proficiency problem in this state. It has been shown time and time again,” he said.