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FCAT

District's scores on FCAT inch upward

Students show broad improvements in math and reading, but not all the news is good.

By EDDY RAMIREZ and BARBARA BEHRENDT
Published May 20, 2005

INVERNESS - In most cases, Citrus students continued to improve their reading and math scores and hold their own against their counterparts statewide, according to results of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test taken in March.

In scores released Thursday, Citrus students bested their own reading scores from last year in every grade from three through 10 except for eighth and 10th grade, and they topped state reading scores in every grade except in the eighth, where Citrus dropped slightly, and the 10th, where the scores tied.

In math, the news was slightly more mixed.

Citrus math scores fell below the state averages in grades six and seven and stayed the same in fifth grade. Compared with last year's Citrus math performance, Citrus students did better in all grades except eighth and 10th.

The FCAT forms the basis for school grades, and those grades will be used to determine which schools receive financial incentives for posting gains and which schools receive financial support to help them improve.

The federal government also reviews the results to make sure schools and school districts are meeting accountability standards under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Statewide, middle and high school students continue to struggle on the reading portion of the FCAT, while elementary school students continue to make strides.

Again this year, the percentage of Florida students reading at grade level begins to drop sharply after fourth grade, and dips well below 50 percent for eighth-, ninth- and 10th-graders.

Since 2001, 10th-graders have been sliding annually, with 32 percent reading at grade level this year, down from 37 percent in 2001.

Over the past several weeks, other batches of FCAT data were released that showed student performance on the FCAT writing section; the scores for 12th-graders, who must pass FCAT in order to receive a diploma; and the reading performance of third-graders, whose promotion to fourth grade depends largely, although not exclusively, on earning a satisfactory FCAT reading score.

Bobbie Dilocker, the district's coordinator of secondary education, said it was premature to pinpoint why middle school students appear to be lagging. Like other school officials, she warned about drawing far-reaching conclusions from the test scores.

"It's very difficult to compare one year to another because you're comparing different students," Dilocker said.

At Lecanto Middle School, where students in grades 6-8 made gains in almost all areas compared with last year's scores, principal James Kusmaul said he was pleased to see that changes to the curriculum appear to be yielding positive results. The school suspended the sixth-grade social studies curriculum for students who performed poorly in last year's FCAT math section.

"If you want them to perform well on the math," Kusmaul said, "the bottom line is you have to give them a little extra help."

On the state level, Education Commissioner John Winn said more analysis needs to be done to determine why 10th-grade scores flopped again. But the state is clearly banking on middle school reforms to reverse the trend.

Last year, the Department of Education began focusing more on middle schools, requiring those with high percentages of struggling readers to intervene in much the way elementary schools have done. It also put 300 more reading coaches in middle schools to train teachers in reading instruction.

The Legislature shot down additional middle school initiatives this year, including a plan to retain eighth-graders who do not acquire enough credits. But Winn said the department would continue to make middle school classes more rigorous and make another push for legislative support next year.

At Crystal River High School, ninth-graders made gains in both reading and math, but the percentage of 10th-graders who scored in the top three levels in reading and math dropped from last year.

"We made steady growth, but we seemed to have had a hiccup in the 10th grade, said Janet Mulligan, the school's assessment specialist. "We need to take this and really try to digest what areas we need to tweak."

Mulligan said English teachers will put their heads together to identify which reading areas students are struggling in, be it research and reference or compare and contrast categories.

At Homosassa Elementary School, students in all three grade levels posted gains in both reading and math. The one exception: fourth-grade math scores.

"We're very proud of our teachers and students," said principal Regina Allegretta. "It's been a team effort."

Allegretta said there was a stronger emphasis on improving math skills after the district introduced a math program that she described as "a more student-centered" program that encourages cooperative learning through more activities for children.

"It's not just paper and pencil," she said. "And kids love it."

At Pleasant Grove Elementary School, where the percentage of students scoring in levels three and above jumped at every grade level in math and two of three grade levels in reading, principal Patrick Simon said officials were "dancing on tabletops."

He was especially pleased with the math scores and credited the new math curriculum and the extensive teacher training that came with it for the improvements in that subject. "It's the first time our math scores are equal to our reading scores," he said.

While pleased with his school's progress, Simon expressed sympathy for other schools with scores that slid. "Even when the growth doesn't happen, it is hard work. Teachers pour every bit of their hearts and souls into this, but it can be frustrating because the end doesn't always produce the results you want."

To see the positive results, "it's such a feeling of jubilation," Simon said.

Simon, who has been reassigned to Citrus Springs Elementary School next year, said he feels like he is leaving on a high note.

"It's a nice way to go out," he said.

Teretta Charles, principal at Forest Ridge Elementary School, had not yet had time to fully analyze the FCAT data, but she said she was "stunned" to see her school's reading scores had not progressed at third and fourth grades and had slipped at fifth grade. While her math achievement improved at each of the three grades, she was still disappointed in the reading scores.

Because the school was working to improve its standing in the federal accountability program, "we had a great emphasis on writing with the disadvantaged children and math with the exceptional education students," Charles said. "It's hard to balance the whole thing."

Times staff writers Ron Matus, Alisa Ulferts, Matthew Waite and Connie Humburg and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 20, 2005, 01:06:18]