Lazaro Aleman: Greene Publishing, Inc.
The Florida Department of Education (FDOE) recently released the results of the 2017 assessment tests for English language arts, math and science by county and grades groupings, along with a comparison of the 2016 scores. For Madison County, the 2017 results show improvement over the previous year in most subject areas and grades, with a few exceptions.
Administered for the first time in 2015, the Florida Standards Assessments (FSA) are intended to measure student achievement of the Florida Standards, a set of objectives that specify the content that Florida students are expected to learn in the subject areas of English language arts and mathematics, according to the FDOE. Meanwhile, the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards Statewide Science Assessments (SSA) do the same for science.
At minimum, students must achieve a Level 3 to proceed to the next grade/course. Although classified as satisfactory, Level 3 also indicates that additional support may be needed for the student to go on. Level 4 indicates proficiency, meaning that the student is likely to excel in the next grade/course. Level 5 is mastery, defined as “highly likely to excel in the next grade/course.”
In Madison County in 2017, the percentage of students in grades 3-10 who achieved a Level 3 or above in English language arts was 40 percent, up six-percent from 2016, when 34 percent of students achieved a Level 3. Broken down by grade groupings, the results are: grade 3-5, 44 percent in 2017, versus 38 percent in 2016 (+6 percent); grades 6-8, 35 percent in 2017, versus 31 percent in 2016 (+4 percent); and grades 9-10, 40 percent in 2017, versus 33 percent in 2016 (+7 percent).
The FDOE reports that statewide, the percentage of students performing at Level 3 and above in grades 3 through 10 increased by two percentage points, from 52 percent in 2016 to 54 percent in 2017.
Statewide, African-American, Hispanic and White students performing at Level 3 and above in English language arts increased by two, one, and two percentage points, respectively, between 2016 and 2017; or 34 percent to 36 percent, 48 percent to 49 percent, and 63 percent to 65 percent, respectively.
English language learners and students with disabilities performing at Level 3 and above in English languages arts increased by two and one-percentage points, respectively, between 2016 and 2017; or from 15 percent to 17 percent, and from 19 percent to 20 percent, respectively.
In Madison County in 2017, the percentage of students in grades 3-8 who achieved a Level 3 or above in mathematics was 43 percent, the same as in 2016. Broken down into grade groupings, however, grades 3-5 improved. The results show grades 3-5 scored 51 percent in 2017, versus 49 percent in 2016 (+2 percent). Grades 6-8, however, decreased, scoring 34 percent in 2017, versus 36 percent in 2016 (-2 percent).
Statewide in 2017, students performing at Level 3 and above in math for grades 3 to 8 increased by two percentage points over 2016, from 57 percent to 59 percent. African-American students performing at Level 3 and above in math increased by two percentage points (39 percent to 41 percent), while Hispanic and White students performing at Level 3 in math increased by one percentage point (54 percent to 55 percent and 69 percent to 70 percent, respectively). As for the Level 3 and above performance of English learners and students with disabilities, their math scores increased by five and two percentage points, respectively, between 2016 and 2017; or from 29 percent to 34 percent, and from 26 percent to 28 percent, respectively.
Finally, in Madison County, the percentage of students in 2017 who achieved a Level 3 or above in science, as measured by the SSA, was: grade 5, 32 percent in 2017, versus 39 percent in 2016 (-7 percent); grade 8 (science and biology 1), 31 percent in 2017, versus 31 percent in 2016; and grade 6-12 (biology 1), 53 percent in 2017, versus 41 percent in 2016 (+12 percent).
The FDOE does not give figures for the statewide performance of African-Americans, Hispanic and White students relative the science component.