FSA data released for Lee County School District
Florida school districts received results today from the Florida Department of Education for students who participated in the 2018 Spring Florida Standards Assessment and End of Course exams.
Grades 3-10 took the FSA test in English language arts, which includes reading and writing skills. The FSA math test was administered to grades 3-8, and the science test was administered to grades 5-8. Students enrolled in civics, algebra I, algebra II and geometry in the spring participated in the state’s EOC exams for those subjects.
All high school End of Course exams showed significant gains, resulting in an increased ranking among Florida districts. The percentage of students scoring Level 3 or higher in geometry jumped 10 percentage points. Algebra I scores improved from 59 percent to 62 percent, which is important because passing the algebra I EOC is a state graduation requirement. A significantly higher percentage of students scored Level 3 or higher in U.S. history, likewise students’ scores on the biology EOC increased by 5 percentage points. In addition, more students met their graduation requirement, as 10th-graders increased their English language arts scores by 4 percent.
In an effort to provide middle school math students the opportunity to take more advanced math courses when they reach high school, 23 percent of the sixth-graders took the 7th-grade FSA mathematics exam and 1 percent of the sixth-graders took the 8th-grade FSA mathematics exam to match their more rigorous course work. It led to a positive trend in 7th-grade FSA math, making Lee County 10th in the state for seventh-grade proficiency in math, while eighth-graders outperformed their peers across the state.
Success was achieved in elementary science as well, where fifth-graders increased their proficiency by 3 percentage points, moving from 49 percent to 52 percent achieving a Level 3 or higher.
“Despite the challenges we faced due to Hurricane Irma, collectively we increased student achievement for grades 3-10 in almost all tested areas,” Superintendent Dr. Greg Adkins said. “I am very proud of our students, teachers and administrators and the positive gains we made. However, we are not complacent. We have already begun planning and developing academic initiatives for the coming school year with a systemic focus on instructional planning, personalized learning and increased rigor. We will continue to strive so our students reach their highest personal potentials.”
Scores released today are for all students and measure achievement levels. Later in the summer, the state will release school and district grades, which will be based on students enrolled the entire school year and will include measures of student learning gains.
In July, parents will be able to pick up their child’s Individual Student Report. A message will be sent when the reports are available at the school where the child took the assessment.