Northeast Florida School Districts Show Strong FCAT Gains

Friday, May 23, 2014

DOE Press Office 850-245-0413

Northeast Florida School Districts Show Strong FCAT Gains

Lake City, Fla., May 23, 2014 - Today, Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart congratulated teachers and students in Northeast Florida for notable gains on FCAT 2.0 Writing and Third Grade Reading and Mathematics.

"These impressive gains are the result of district leaders providing teachers with the tools and training they need to succeed," said Commissioner Stewart. "I am confident that with new standards and assessments next year replacing the FCAT, our students will continue to succeed."

• Bradford County improved from 2013 in all five assessment areas announced today. Third grade students improved nine percentage points in reading, and one percentage point in mathematics. In writing, eighth grade students moved up 22 percentage points and tenth graders jumped 28 percentage points.
• Columbia County improved from 2013 in four of the five assessment areas announced today. Both eighth and tenth grade students improved an impressive 15 percentage points in writing. For third grade, students moved up two percentage points in reading and one percentage point in mathematics.

Florida's recent academic gains have received national attention. The Sunshine State jumped from 11th to 6th in the nation for educational quality in 2013. Florida has the highest graduation rate in the nation for Hispanic students. In the past decade, the number of Florida graduates participating in AP courses has more than doubled, and the number of low-income graduates taking AP courses has increased tenfold. And Florida's graduation rate is 75.6% for 2012-13 - an increase of 1.1 percentage points over the prior year and up five percentage points since 2010-11.

Next year, a new assessment based on the Florida Standards will replace the FCAT 2.0. The Florida Standards for mathematics and English language arts stress a broader approach for student learning, including an increased emphasis on analytical thinking. With the new and more rigorous standards, a new assessment was needed to measure student progress.

For more information on third grade reading requirements, visit Read to Learn (PDF).

The 2014 FCAT 2.0 Writing and third grade FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics results are available at 2014 Statewide Assessment Scores.