Florida Standards Essay

Florida standards outline what should be taught and at what grade level to ensure that all students have access to quality education, preparing them to be college ready. With clear standards in place and redefined leadership roles that foster teacher growth, teachers have the opportunity to increase their expertise and make a greater impact in the classroom. When students are exposed to positive learning environments, in which effective techniques motivate them to learn, achievement levels increase. As one can see, there is a clear relationship between academic standards, effective instruction, and student performance.

Academic Standards

Adopted in 2010 and fully implemented during the 2014-2015 school year, the Common Core State Standards fundamentally changed the education system. The standards focus on math and English language arts in an effort to

2). There has been a shift in what effective leadership looks like over the years. The role of a principal has transitioned from a hierarchical system, in which the principal is the educational expert, to a shared instructional leadership role that encourages collaboration between the administration and teachers as well as between teachers and their colleagues (Marks & Printy, 2003). “Shared instructional leadership involves the active collaboration of principal and teachers on curriculum, instruction, and assessment,” (Marks & Printy, 2003, p. 371). With this approach, the responsibility for curriculum development as well as professional development and supervision of classroom instruction is shared, fundamentally changing structure and culture within the school. This is a critical piece to the evolution of the education system as teachers possess, “critical information about their students and how they learn,” (Marks & Printy, 2003, p.