Some state assessment scores up, some down in Indian River County
Andrew Atterbury
TCPalm
INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — More state test scores are in, and the results are a mixed bag for Indian River County School District.
More students passed Algebra 1 end-of course-exams — a graduation requirement — this year, but the district's numbers still fell below the state average.
A smaller percentage of students passed English/language arts end-of-course exams — also required for graduation — compared to last year, although the numbers were above state marks.
'We're very proud of the results in Algebra,' Superintendent Mark Rendell said Friday. 'Our students and teacher worked very hard to improve.'
The Florida Department of Education on Friday released Florida Standards Assessment and end-of-course exams results in mathematics, English/language arts, science, civics and U.S. history.
This marks the second year of FSA testing, and the first time learning gains — measuring how much students improved from year-to-year — could be accounted for by the state. The test in 2015 supplanted the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to gauge student learning, and factors into teacher evaluations and school grades.
Students in Indian River County showed notable improvement in Algebra 1, Algebra 2 and civics.
The largest jump came in Algebra 1, which improved by 10 percentage points — from 19 percent in 2015 to 29 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, the state numbers for the end-of-course exam declined from 38 percent to 36 percent.
Rendell credited the 'Algebra Counts 2' program, sponsored by the Education Foundation of Indian River County, which provides training to math teachers, for helping raise the scores.
The passing percentage for end-of-course English/language arts exams declined slightly, from 54 percent to 52 percent, matching the statewide drop from 52 percent to 50 percent.
Indian River County students improved 5 percentage points in Algebra 2 — to 49 percent compared to the 40 percent state average — and civics — to 69 percent compared to the state average of 67 percent.
Students younger than high school age taking Algebra 1 increased by 4 percentage points, as 85 percent of students passed while 88 percent passed statewide.
Geometry scores dropped by 2 percentage points in high school, to 47 percent, and fifth- through eighth-grade, to 97 percent. State averages were 47 percent and 94 percent, respectively.
Science scores decreased by 1 percent across the board to 47 percent in fifth-grade, 50 percent in eighth-grade and 64 percent in end-of-course exams. Science passing rates statewide came in at 51 percent, 50 percent and 64 percent, respectively.
'Even with a higher bar, Florida students continued the overall trend of increased performance year over year,' Pam Stewart, education commissioner, said in a statement Friday. 'We are committed to ongoing collaboration with district superintendents and school leaders to maintain this momentum so that all students are prepared to succeed in the next steps of their academic journey.'