Hernando Today
FCAT Scores Up And Down
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: May 8, 2008
BROOKSVILLE - Overall, Hernando County's fourth-, eighth- and tenth-graders did about as well as the state average on the writing portion of this year's annual Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
But school-by-school results told a different story, with some schools showing drastic improvement and others showing a decline, according to figures released Thursday.
Schools that showed an improvement of more than 5 percent in more than one area included Brooksville, Pine Grove and Westside Elementary Schools, Challenger K-8 School of Science and Mathematics and Springstead High School.
Schools that showed a decrease of more than five percent in more than one area included Eastside, Moton and Suncoast Elementary Schools, Central High School and Hernando's charter school, Gulf Coast Academy.
Brooksville Elementary was the highest with a mean scale score increase of 25 percentage points since last year, with Gulf Coast yielding the lowest, losing a mean scale score of 23 points since last year.
"I think there are definitely areas for improvement," Superintendent Wayne Alexander said. "I'm proud of (the schools that did well)."
Alexander said he hopes the addition of a new position for next year — a curriculum specialist — will help improve writing scores at all schools next year.
"I'm happy I was wise enough to listen to the direction of staff and the community to add a curriculum specialist, who will focus on writing as one of their priorities," he said. "It's definitely something we need in our district, and I anticipate that (that) person will learn from the experts and build on the successes at the schools who have (done well)."
Districtwide, Hernando fourth-graders scored a 300 on the 100-to-500 scale, compared to the state average of 304. Overall, 57 percent of Hernando fourth-graders met the state's achievement standard, compared to 61 percent statewide.
In eighth grade, Hernando students scored a 301, compared to the state average of 300. All together, 52 percent of local eighth-graders met the state standard, two points higher than the state's 50 percent average.
In 10th grade, local students averaged 299, compared to the 302 state score. Half, or 50 percent, of Hernando students met the standard, compared to 53 percent statewide.
Last month, the Florida Department of Education did away with its new requirement that 10th-graders must pass the writing portion of the FCAT to graduate.
If they hadn't, half of Hernando's 10th-graders would have been required to complete remedial writing work and retake the test, under the premise of not graduating. Passage of the math and reading portions of the FCAT are still required for graduation.
While Alexander agreed that the abolishment of the writing graduation requirement is most likely a relief for local students, he said the state's policies are currently in such flux that a comment on the future of the FCAT would be premature.
"This is all discussion," he said. "I'd rather not comment until we know what the changes will be."
Compared to last year, the percentage of fourth-graders scoring a 3.5 and above remained the same at 72 percent, eighth-graders increased two points to 89 percent and 10th-graders decreased two points to 78 percent.
This is the first batch of scores from the annual state standardized test, which is part of the formula used to compute Florida's annual school grades. Students in grades 4, 8 and 10 were required to write an essay and answer questions about spelling, punctuation and sentence structure.
Scores from the third-grade FCAT reading test are expected to be released in late May, with the rest released in early June. School grades will be released in July.
Statewide, the mean score of students scoring at or above achievement level three on the writing exam increased by two points over the previous year. The majority of students in all three grades continue to score 3.5 and above on the essay portion of the exam, according to statistics from the Florida Department of Education.
Beginning at 6 a.m. Tuesday, parents can view their students' scores online at www.fcatparentnetwork.com using a login and password provided by their school. Printed reports, including individual student reports, school reports, district and state reports, will be delivered to school districts next week.
For more information, go to www.fldoe.org.
Reporter Linnea Brown can be reached at 352-544-5289 or lbrown@hernandotoday.com.
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)
* Keep it clean
* Respect others
* Don't hate
* Don't use language you wouldn't use with your mom
* Use "Report Inappropriate Comments" link when necessary
* See Member Agreement for details
Reader Comments
Posted by ( SpringHillConcernedCitizen ) on May 9, 2008 at 5:45 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
If the system would concentrate more on the actual education of the students and less on FCAT, they would do far more good.
Report Inappropriate Comments
Posted by ( JoeF ) on May 9, 2008 at 6:32 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
For the millions of dollars being spent, this report is not positive. Below average results isn't what I'd call a good return on that much money.
Alexander, adding more staff, won't fix your problem. You need teachers who teach the basics, not more finger painting let's all have fun art classes.
School taxes on property needs to go away. I'm voting for the constitutional aamendment that will do just that. Then, Mr Alexander, we'll see if you have any Real management skills.
Report Inappropriate Comments