Six out of 10 Florida third through tenth graders are now reading at or above grade level, an improvement of 10 percent over the last five years. Middle schools made the most dramatic gains. More minority students are meeting the test.
Six out of 10 students tested are reading at grade level or better. The release marks the last time Gov. Jeb Bush will deliver the results of the testing program he initiated.
“Measuring allows us to celebrate the gains that students achieve when they achieve them as well as identify potential problems to remediate and to improve.”
The biggest gains were in middle school, which showed a six point jump after the state spent $89 million on reading coaches for middle schools.
Orlando Middle School Principal Dr. Joseph Miller says it was that concentration on reading that made the difference.
“So all of our teachers are teaching reading in some form every day and, uh, we are also in the process of doing the same kind of approach with math.”
Parents will be able to log onto the internet to check their individual children’s scores, but they’ll need a log in and password provided by the school.
The two democrats who hope to succeed Bush as governor say they will use the FCAT for measuring, but not grading schools or students. Jeb Bush says that would be a mistake.
“Would we go back to the old days when we don’t measure, we don’t care. We allow them to languish in mediocrity? I think not.”
Minorities have also made gains; 39 percent of the African-American students are now reading at grade level, compared to just one in six when Bush took office.
There is still one set of FCAT grades that have yet to be released this year. The letter grades assigned to individual schools. Those grades won’t be ready until next month.
Bay County’s scores looked even or above the state average.
Percent Reading at or Above Grade Level
Bay Co., State
4th Grade 66% 66%
5th Grade 76% 67%
6th Grade 69% 64%
7th Grade 69% 61%
8th Grade 53% 46%
9th Grade 49% 40%
10th Grade 34% 32%
Percent Math at or Above Grade Level
Bay Co., State
4th Grade 68% 54%
5th Grade 64% 57%
6TH Grade 54% 53%
7th Grade 59% 55%
8th Grade 64% 60%
9th Grade 63% 59%
10th Grade 70% 65%