Lee County public schools students didn't make much improvement on the part of a state test that measures students' proficiency in reading and writing when comparing the 2018 tests results to the ones from 2017.
The new results indicate 52 percent of students in grades 3-10 scored a three or higher in English language arts on the Florida Standards Assessment. Last year, the same percentage of students scored at least a three on that part of the test.
Students can score between one and five in the areas that the Florida Standards Assessment measures. A three is considered satisfactory. In addition to English language arts, students are tested in mathematics, science and social studies.
The percentage of students in grades 3-5 who scored a three or better in English language arts was 54 percent, the same as it was in last year’s results.
Students in grades 6th-8th did slightly worse, falling from 53 percent to 52. Ninth and 10th graders did a bit better, increasing from 48 percent to 51.
Shanna Flecha, executive director of elementary school development, said the school district has created curriculum maps and instruction guides in hopes of boosting students’ performance on the Florida Standards Assessment. She said the tools are meant to help teachers with the things that they should be teaching in class and the things that students should be mastering.
Teachers were given access to the maps and guides before they left for summer break, Flecha said.
“Those are two tools that we believe will help increase proficiency and students learning as they master the standards and also increase the rigor that they are experiencing in their classrooms,” she said.
Here is how Lee County students did on some other portions of the assessment:
Students in grades 6th-8th did slightly better in math. Of those students, 58 percent scored a three or higher, according to the 2018 results. In 2017, 57 percent received at least a three.
The test results also show students made improvements in science and biology when comparing 2017 to 2018. The percentage of fifth-graders who scored a three or higher went from 49 to 52. The percentage of eighth-graders who scored at least a three in science and biology improved from 46 to 49. The percentage of students in grades 6th-12th who scored three or higher in biology improved from 56 to 59.
Students in grades 4th-12th showed progress in civics, with the percentage scoring three or higher going from 64 to 66. The students also did a bit better in U.S. history. The percentage that scored at least a three went from 59 to 60.
“I am very proud of our students, teachers and administrators and the positive gains we made,” Superintendent Greg Adkins said in a news release. “However, we are not complacent. We have already begun planning and developing academic initiatives for the coming school year with a systemic focus on instructional planning, personalized learning and increased rigor. We will continue to strive so our students reach their highest personal potentials.”