Florida's public school students fared better on this year's FCAT in most grades, with a majority of students scoring at or above grade level in reading for the first time.
Only 8th and 10th grade reading scores dipped on average when compared to last year, state education officials said Monday. In math, sixth graders were the only class to fare worse than last year's counterparts.
Gov. Jeb Bush touted the numbers at a Tallahassee elementary school Monday morning before flying to St. Petersburg to visit North Shore Elementary School. School officials in Tallahassee credited their rise in reading scores to smaller classes focused on reading.
Bush, who opposes a constitutional amendment limiting class size, said it wasn't the "constitutional edict" that brought scores up. What made the difference, he said, was the school's decision to offer intensive reading instruction in small groups.
"Thankfully, we still have a school-based strategy of management," Bush said.
When asked about the dip in 8th and 10th grade grade reading scores, Bush said: "There's always got to be an exception to the rule and this proves it."
The governor said $15-million that will be dedicated to reading coaches in middle schools next year will help reverse the decline in the higher grades.
While FCAT supporters cheered the test results, it's unclear how they will factor into the state's A+ accountability system and the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The state's accountability system, which produced a record number of A-rated schools last year, is split into two parts: Achievement and improvement. Improvement scores track individual students from year to year, and some schools get more than half of their school grade from improvement. Improvement figures won't be available until mid-June, when grades are released.
Under the federal system, FCAT scores are used to determine whether six subgroups - ranging from ethnic groups to students with limited English skills - are making progress toward a goal of all students passing the test. Last year, more than 80 percent of Florida schools failed to meet those goals.
Results for the six subgroups weren't released Monday, and a report on how the state complied with the federal law won't be released until mid-summer.
