FCAT Third Grade Scores Better Than State's

Sarasota County students scored higher than their peers across the state, on average, in third-grade FCAT 2.0 Reading and Math test results and in Biology I and Geometry end-of-course assessment results released Thursday by the Florida Department of Education.

Almost 3,200 third-graders in Sarasota County public schools participated in the April 2012 FCAT. The results are based on all students tested, including students with disabilities, English-language learners and students who repeated grade three this year. These results were not released during the

The State Board of Education established new achievement-level standards for FCAT 2.0 Reading; this is the first time results are being reported according to the new standards. Because the FCAT 2.0 is based on more demanding content standards and the achievement standards are more rigorous, scores may appear lower on the new scale than on the previous scale for certain grades and subjects. 

In spring 2011, FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics scores were reported as FCAT equivalent scores to maintain consistent expectations for student performance during the transition year. For comparison purposes this year, the 2011 scores have been converted to the new FCAT 2.0 scale scores, so people can see what the scores would have been if the new score scale and achievement levels had been approved and implemented last year.

To be considered proficient, students must score at Level 3 or higher on an FCAT test. Third-grade students must score at Level 2 or higher in FCAT Reading to be promoted to fourth grade.

Below are some highlights of the Sarasota County FCAT 2.0 results:

• In Reading, the student proficiency rates in Sarasota County are 13 percentage points higher than the state. A comparison between the adjusted test scores for 2011 and the 2012 test results shows that in 2012, the percentage of third-grade students in the state and in Sarasota scoring at or above proficiency decreased 1 point in reading.

• In Math, the student proficiency rates in Sarasota County are 9 percentage points higher than the state. Compared to adjusted 2011 results, the students at or above proficiency increased 5 percentage points in mathematics; the state increased 2 percentage points.

Table 1. Percentage of Sarasota County and State Grade Three Students Scoring in Achievement Levels 1, 2 and 3-5

Grade 3

FCAT SSS

Sarasota County Schools

State

READING

Original Published Test Scores 2011

Adjusted Test Scores 2011

2012

Dif-ference

Original Published Scores 2011

Adjusted Test Scores 2011

2012

Dif-ference

Level 1

9%

10%

10%

0%

16%

18%

18%

0%

Level 2

8%

20%

21%

+1%

12%

25%

26%

+1%

Levels 3-5

82%

70%

69%

-1%

72%

57%

56%

-1%

MATHEMATICS

2011

2012

Dif-ference

2011

2012

Dif-ference

Level 1

6%

14%

12%

-2%

9%

19%

18%

-1%

Level 2

11%

24%

20%

-4%

13%

25%

24%

-1%

Levels 3-5

83%

62%

67%

+5%

78%

56%

58%

+2%

(Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.)

The FCAT 2.0 grade-three results are also reported by averages, on a scale of 140 to 260. The two-year trend of grade three average scale scores in reading and mathematics is shown in Table 2 for the district and state.

Table 2. Grade Three FCAT 2.0 Reading and Math Average Scale Scores

GRADE 3

Original Published Test 2011

AdjustedTest Scores 2011

2012

Difference Between Adjusted 2011 Scores and 2012 Scores

READING

Sarasota County

333

207

207

 0

State

314

200

201

+1

MATHEMATICS

Sarasota County

347

204

206

+2

State

337

201

202

+1

• Sarasota County students’ average scores are 6 points and 4 points above the state averages in Reading and Mathematics, respectively.

• A comparison between the adjusted test scores for 2011 and the 2012 test results indicates that the average scale score for third-grade students in Sarasota County remained consistent with last year’s in Reading. The average scale score for third-grade students in Sarasota County increased 2 percentage points in Mathematics.

In the high school Biology I End-of-Course Assessment results released Thursday, Sarasota County students topped the statewide average scale score. While the state average scale score in Biology for all grades tested was 49, the average scale score for Sarasota County students was four points higher, at 53. About 3,000 Sarasota County students in took the Biology test.

In the high school Geometry End-of-Course Assessment, the average scale score comparison was the same as for Biology 1. Sarasota County students topped the statewide average scale score. As with Biology, the state average scale score in Geometry for all grades tested was 49 and the average scale score for Sarasota County students was 53. About 2,800 Sarasota County students took the Geometry test.