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Alachua County Public Schools Show Slight Increase in State Math Test Scores

Alachua County Public Schools release partial state test score results showing increase in math, decrease in language arts
Alachua County Public Schools release partial state test score results showing increase in math, decrease in language arts

Alachua County Public School officials were eager to report the initial results of state test scores which show increases in local math passing rates, especially in Algebra.  The results which the Florida Department of Education released on Tuesday show a slight decrease in English Language Arts rates. Results for the science, civics and history tests have not yet been released.

Alachua County Public School officials say on the math FSA (Florida Standards Assessment), which is given to students in grades 3 through 8, the percentage of Alachua County students scoring a 3 or higher in math rose from 51% to 52%. District officials say on the Algebra EOC (End of Course) exam, the percentage of students scoring 3 or above increased from 46% to 52%, which they say so far is the most significant increase in passing rates. For the Geometry EOC exam, the local percentage rose from 50 to 51%.

District officials say Alachua County’s Algebra and Geometry passing rates are higher than the state’s rate of 49% for each test. The district’s math FSA passing rate this year was below the state’s rate of 55%.

The release goes on to say secondary school students did better than their state peers on the math FSA, particularly high school students. Their passing rate this year was 55%, compared to the state rate of 50%

For the English Language Arts (ELA) FSA, the percentage of local students who scored at 3 or above dropped slightly from 53% to 52%, which matches the state’s percentage.

“We’ll be digging deep into the data so that we can see where students improved and where they didn’t,” said Jennie Wise, the district’s Chief of Teaching and Learning. “That information will drive our instructional strategies for the upcoming school year.”

Earlier this year the Florida Legislature, eliminated FSA testing in favor of a new accountability system that would involve more ‘progress monitoring’ during the school year. How the new system will work is not yet known.

Denise is the director of the Innovation News Center and WUFT News at the University of Florida's College of Journalism and Communications.