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3rd-Grade FCAT Scores Improve

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By RONNIE BLAIR

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 22, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco County third-graders showed improvement in FCAT scores for reading and math, but their math scores still lag behind the state average.

The Florida Department of Education released Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores Wednesday that showed 72 percent of Pasco third-graders performed well enough to be considered proficient in reading, up from 68 percent a year ago.

Meanwhile, 69 percent of the third-graders were proficient in math, also up from 68 percent last year.

Superintendent Heather Fiorentino said she was happy to see students improve in both subjects, but acknowledged the district still has work ahead of it in math.

"We're improving, but we definitely need to do more there," she said.

Statewide, 72 percent of third-graders were proficient in reading, up from 69 percent in 2007, and 76 were proficient in math, up from 74 percent last year.

Fiorentino said Pasco could look at surrounding counties to study what they have done to improve math scores.
Assistant Superintendent Sandy Ramos said that within Pasco there are schools that showed tremendous growth in math, and the district also will look to those schools for ideas on how to improve.

Cox, Lake Myrtle, Marlowe, Pasco, Sand Pine and Trinity elementary schools all increased the percentage of students showing math proficiency by 10 percentage points or more.

At 10 Pasco schools, 80 percent or more of the third-graders scored at the proficiency level, compared with just four schools that could report that in 2007.

Although math scores are the ones lagging behind the state average, it is the reading scores that are more significant for individual third-graders.

Third-grade students could be held back if they score at the lowest level on the reading test, which has five levels.

Level 3 or higher is considered proficient. In Pasco, 17 percent of the third-graders scored at Level 1, which means 890 students are at risk of repeating the grade.

Last year, 19 percent of third-graders scored at Level 1.

Not all third-graders who score at the lowest level are held back.

Fiorentino said that, typically, about half of the at-risk students are still promoted because of scores on other tests or summer reading camps.

The state also released results of the FCAT norm-referenced test, which compares Florida students with students across the country.

In both subjects, Pasco students scored at the 59th percentile, which means they performed as well or better than 59 percent of the third-graders nationwide.

"Parents should be pleased to know we are scoring higher in reading and math than the national average," Ramos said.

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

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