Flagler Third Graders Rank 19th in Reading, 23rd in Math, in Latest FCAT Batch

A week after releasing writing scores for various grades, the Florida Department of Education released critical 3rd grade FCAT scores today–critical, because 3rd grade reading scores determine whether a student moves on to 4th grade or not.

Out of 988 students who took the test in Flagler County, 130, or 13 percent, scored only a 1 on a scale of 5, and will be held back, absent improvements in summer reading school, which the district offers free. “If they don’t take part in summer reading then we have to retain,” says Shawn Schmidli, the district’s assessment coordinator. Last year, 109 students scored a 1.

An additional 247 students, or one out of four, scored only a 2 on the reading portion of the exam. Those students will move on to 4th grade, but will be enrolled in an intensive reading class. The number of students scoring a 2 this year more than doubles the proportion of students who scored a 2 last year. That’s because the state has toughened the standards on the FCAT.

It also explains the precipitous decline in scores overall for Flagler students, only 62 percent of whom scored a 3 or better in reading or math, a decline from last year’s 78 percent in both disciplines. But the comparison must take into account the tougher standards. “It’s harder for students to earn a 3 this year than it has been in the past. We’re not making an apples to apples comparison,” Schmidli said.

On the slightly brighter side, Flagler County continues to outperform the state average of 58 percent passing with a 3 or better in math, and 56 percent in reading. “I keep looking at the fact that we’re continuing to outperform the state,” Schmidli said. “We understand that the standard has been changed so the best way to make sense out of all of them is to compare our results with the state as well as other counties.”

Still, when ranking Flagler County’s results only against this year’s results in other counties, Flagler does not quite glitter, coming in 19th in reading and 23rd in math. The leading county is again St. Johns in reading, with 75 percent of its 2,329 students passing with a 3 or better, followed by Santa Rosa and Seminole, with 72 and 70 percent respectively.

In math, Calhoun County and Union County are first, with 74 percent at the proficient level of 3 or better, followed by St. Johns, with 73 percent. Seminole is also in the top five, with 71 percent at 3 or better. The Seminole scores are notable this year only because Flagler County school board members pointed to Seminole as a model district when they decided to convert Flagler schools to a stricter dress code, which Seminole follows. Seminole officials attribute their standardized test scores’ improvements, in part, to their dress code. The attribution is not verified scientifically: it is merely an observable correlation. But it adds fuel to the arguments of uniform advocates.

Looking at schools individually, this year’s reading champions in 3rd grade are the students of Old Kings Elementary, a cool 70 percent of whom managed a 3 or better, besting traditional winner Belle Terre Elementary by three points and Imagine, the charter school, by five.

In math, the champions are again Belle Terre’s 3rd graders, 74 percent of whom are proficient. They’re followed by Old Kings, with 66 percent, and Wadsworth Elementary with 60 percent.

Schmidli stressed that the more difficult standards are necessary, especially as Florida makes its way toward national assessments in a few years, when the FCAT will be abandoned. Those national tests will be more difficult, essentially eliminating individual states’ ability to be self-satisfied with their own results, absent broader comparisons and more uniform standards.

The complete reading and math scores going back four years in Flagler County schools are charted below.

Mired in another series of FCAT-related fiascoes this year, Gov. Rick Scott’s office and the Department of Education have been on an intense public relations drive to spin the story as brightly as possible.

“When the State Board of Education set higher achievement levels for FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics in December,” a Department of Education news release reads, “they were acting on recommendations from Florida’s educators, parents and the community and data showing the impact of the new achievement levels on students and schools. Today’s results for Florida’s third graders proved those estimates to be almost on target for both reading and math. While comparing actual year over year scores is difficult because of differences in the way this year’s and last year’s results are reported, impact data comparisons show third graders did slightly higher than estimated in math and slightly lower than estimated in reading.”

“The future success of third grade students depends on mastering essential reading skills,” said Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. “Today’s results help us determine how and where we should focus our resources so students who are struggling with reading get the extra help they need to succeed. Whether we’re preparing a child for college, career training or the workplace, they must have the fundamentals of reading to be successful.”

2010 3rd FCAT Scores By School and By Achievement Level

	% at Level 1	% at Level 2	% at Level 3	% at Level 4	% at Level 5	% at 3 or Better
Flagler School District
2012 Reading	13	25	25	24	12	62
2011 Reading	11	11	33	38	7	78
2010 Reading	11	10	37	33	9	79
2009 Reading	11	9	33	38	9	81
2012 Math	15	23	32	19	10	62
2011 Math	8	13	34	34	11	78
2010 Math	7	12	35	31	15	81
2009 Math	7	14	35	30	15	79
Belle Terre Elementary
2012 Reading	9	24	26	26	15	67
2011 Reading	8	6	33	48	5	86
2010 Reading	5	6	35	43	12	89
2009 Reading	7	9	32	41	11	84
2012 Math	9	17	32	25	17	74
2011 Math	6	8	33	41	12	86
2010 Math	3	7	34	35	20	90
2009 Math	3	12	29	34	21	85
Bunnell Elementary
2012 Reading	14	30	27	17	11	56
2011 Reading	16	17	33	22	12	67
2010 Reading	15	14	32	26	14	71
2009 Reading	18	12	29	32	9	70
2012 Math	15	29	32	15	9	56
2011 Math	10	20	30	26	13	70
2010 Math	7	13	31	28	21	80
2009 Math	9	17	31	30	13	74
Rymfire Elementary
2012 Reading	16	23	29	27	6	62
2011 Reading	7	7	35	45	7	86
2010 Reading	12	14	38	31	5	74
2009 Reading	8	8	36	39	9	84
2012 Math	17	26	34	16	7	57
2011 Math	6	11	35	40	7	83
2010 Math	11	15	34	28	11	73
2009 Math	8	14	38	27	14	78
Old Kings Elementary
2012 Reading	11	19	25	28	17	70
2011 Reading	9	8	28	45	10	83
2010 Reading	8	6	39	41	6	86
2009 Reading	7	5	29	47	12	88
2012 Math	14	20	29	26	11	66
2011 Math	3	10	35	39	13	87
2010 Math	6	6	39	36	15	89
2009 Math	3	5	35	41	16	92
Wadsworth Elementary
2012 Reading	15	31	22	24	7	54
2011 Reading	10	19	38	30	3	71
2010 Reading	16	10	46	23	5	74
2009 Reading	14	9	38	31	9	78
2012 Math	17	23	35	17	8	60
2011 Math	11	17	37	25	10	72
2010 Math	10	16	34	26	14	74
2009 Math	11	16	35	24	14	73
Heritage Academy (Private Charter)
2012 Reading	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
2011 Reading	44	13	38	6	0	44
2010 Reading	31	0	38	31	0	69
2009 Reading	10	14	43	29	5	76
2012 Math	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA
2011 Math	44	25	31	0	0	31
2010 Math	23	31	23	23	0	46
2009 Math	14	33	52	0	0	52
Imagine (Private Charter)
2012 Reading	10	25	20	26	20	65
2011 Reading	14	9	30	43	5	77
2010 Reading	7	22	22	37	13	72
2009 Reading	13	11	36	36	4	76
2012 Math	15	26	36	15	8	59
2011 Math	5	11	43	27	14	84
2010 Math	4	20	35	37	4	76
2009 Math	9	20	47	22	2	71

Source: Flagler County Schools and the Florida Department of Education.