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Pasco Students Post FCAT Gains

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By RONNIE BLAIR | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 10, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco County students continue to show improvement in math, reading and science in nearly every grade level, according to Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results released today.

Despite the improvement, though, science remains a struggle for students, with just 40 percent of fifth and eighth-graders and 38 percent of 11th-graders scoring at or above grade level. Statewide, the averages were 43 percent for fifth-grade, 40 percent for eighth-grade and 38 percent for 11th-grade.

Those are the only three grades that are tested in science.

The math and reading scores released today were for grades four through 10. Third-grade scores were released about two weeks ago.

Eighth-graders and 10th-graders showed the most improvement in both math and reading, although the majority of 10th-graders still aren't reading at grade level.

In math, 68 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above grade level, up from 61 percent in 2007. Meanwhile, 70 percent of 10th-graders scored at or above grade level, up from 63 percent last year.

In reading, 54 percent of eighth-graders scored at or above grade level, up from 48 percent in 2007, and 38 percent of 10th-graders scored at or above grade level, up from 32 percent.

The only decline was in fifth-grade reading, with 68 percent of the students scoring at or above grade level compared with 72 percent last year.

How the Pasco students compare to their peers statewide depends on the grade and the subject.

Pasco tied or outscored the state average at every grade level in reading.

Math was a different story, with every grade except eighth and 10th scoring below the state average. The largest gap was in fourth-grade. Statewide, 71 percent of fourth-graders performed at or above grade level, while just 62 percent of Pasco students accomplished that.

FCAT scores are broken down into five levels. Students must score at Level 3 or higher to show proficiency.

School-by-school FCAT results can be viewed on the Florida Department of Education's Web site at fcat.fldoe.org/fcinfopg.asp.

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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