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Pinellas 3rd-graders improve in math and reading

The students' FCAT scores increased so much in reading they now rank highest among their peers in Florida's seven large school districts.

By THOMAS C. TOBIN and DONNA WINCHESTER
Published May 11, 2005

Third-graders in Pinellas County tested markedly better in math this year. And they improved so much in reading they now rank highest among their peers in Florida's seven large school districts.

But the news isn't all good for the more than 8,300 third-graders in Pinellas. Roughly three in 10 tested below their grade level in math and reading, according to statistics released Wednesday.

Still, district officials hope third grade scores on the 2005 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test point to a larger positive trend across all grades. In recent years, Pinellas has ranked in the middle of the pack or near the bottom in many categories when compared to other large counties, including Miami-Dade, Broward and neighboring Hillsborough.

Mindful of its declining status in a new age of standardized testing, Pinellas this year toughened up students' test-taking skills. Classes were geared more heavily to material tested on the FCAT, and teachers administered an unprecedented number of practice tests that mimicked the FCAT's format.

Many teachers and parents have complained that the stepped-up focus sapped variety and spontaneity from Pinellas classrooms. But district officials, led by superintendent Clayton Wilcox, held fast, arguing that using standardized tests to make schools more accountable is here to stay.

"Everywhere we go we hear people who say they're not happy with it," Wilcox said. "But its hard to argue with the results we're getting."

Many Pinellas schools benefited this year from federal and state programs that allowed educators to spend more time with "struggling students." They also employed computer programs to pinpoint which students needed more help in selected areas.

The scores for tests taken in March were released Wednesday. They show that the number of Pinellas third-graders scoring at or above their grade level in math climbed to 72 percent - up a whopping 8 points from last year. The previous year saw no increase.

In reading, 68 percent of Pinellas third-graders scored at or above grade level, a 2 point improvement that moved them ahead of Hillsborough and Duval counties.

The increases were notable considering that Pinellas educators in past years have cheered gains of one or two percentage points.

A number of schools with high populations of struggling students showed major improvement. Lealman Avenue Elementary in St. Petersburg, for example, shot up 15 percentage points in reading and 24 points in math. Another St. Petersburg school, Mount Vernon Elementary, increased by 14 points in reading and six points in math.

At Clearview Avenue Elementary in St. Petersburg, principal Mary Jane Dann pointed to several factors, including a full-time reading coach for students in kindergarten through third grades. "This is her second year," she said. "And it's just all coming together."

Sixty percent of Clearview's third-graders scored at or above grade level on the reading portion of the FCAT, up from 41 percent last year. The number of third-graders testing at grade level in math jumped by 14 percentage points.

At Mount Vernon Elementary, principal Peggy Pearson cited several factors that led to her third-graders' success. Among them: The school's four administrators each picked five struggling students every day and worked with them on their reading "fluency," the ability to move smoothly through a passage.

Pearson also credited the school's partnership with Raymond James and Associates Inc., which sends 30 to 40 employees to the school as mentors.

"We've had lots of things going on, and it's working," she said.

Some schools, however, went against the trend. Last year, Highland Lakes Elementary in Palm Harbor had 90 percent of its third-graders test at grade level in reading. This year, the number dropped to the mid 70s. This year at Curtis Fundamental in Clearwater, the number of third-graders reading at grade level slipped from 94 percent to 80 percent.

Kathy Duncan, Curtis Fundamental principal, said the school has some potential retainees who didn't achieve as much as their teachers had hoped.

"Obviously, they didn't meet the standard," she said. "We had a new teacher in third grade this year, but she did fine . . . We did a lot of the things we did in the past."

Highland Lakes and Curtis Fundamental are among eight Pinellas schools that have earned state grades of A for the past four years. Both made adequate yearly progress last year under federal No Child Left Behind standards.

Despite the decline, the two schools still have far more children reading at or above grade level than the vast majority of elementary schools.

Two other elementaries, Lynch in St. Petersburg and Southern Oak in Seminole, also showed significant drops in the number of third-graders at grade level in reading. At Lynch, the percent dropped from 65 to 54. At Southern Oak, it went from 75 to 65.

Southern Oak principal Robert Ammon said it's hard to determine the reason for the drop at this point. He and his team plan to look at scores across the board to look for trends.

He suspects that part of the reason for the decline could be that his students improved so much last year that additional gains became more difficult.

"But we don't know," he said. "We went from a D one year to an A. We tried to figure out what that was all about, too."

[Last modified May 11, 2005, 19:35:02]