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Schools

Eighth-graders post FCAT writing gains

Pinellas County Schools officials say they are pleased with the progress made over last year's scores.

By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published April 21, 2006

Pinellas County fourth- and 10th-graders held steady this year on the writing portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, while eighth-graders managed a small gain.

Seventy-one percent of fourth-graders scored at least a 3.5, the standard the state expects students to meet on a scale of 1 to 6. Pinellas County's number for fourth-graders is 5 percentage points below the state average and 6 percentage points below Hillsborough County.

Among 10th-graders, 81 percent scored 3.5 or above, the same as last year. The students performed 3 percentage points above the state average but 2 percentage points behind Hillsborough 10th-graders.

Meanwhile, 84 percent of Pinellas eighth-graders scored 3.5 or above compared with 82 percent last year. That number is just above the state average but 4 percentage points behind Hillsborough County eighth-graders.

"We did not make the kind of leapfrog improvement we need to," Pinellas school superintendent Clayton Wilcox said of the results, which were released Thursday. "While I wasn't ecstatic, I'm pleased with the trend lines."

Statewide, writing scores improved for fourth- and eighth-graders.

"You can see over the past eight years we've made tremendous progress in the area of writing," Education Commissioner John Winn said.

But among 10th-graders, 78 percent scored at 3.5 or above, a slight decrease from last year. Winn said the state would have liked to see more progress but said, "That's pretty much what high school reform is all about."

Despite the statewide decline in 10th-grade scores, Gov. Jeb Bush touted the writing results as "the latest evidence of Florida's rising student achievement."

While 10th-grade scores overall in Pinellas remained static, 10 of the district's 16 high schools improved this year. East Lake High made the greatest gains, with 92 percent of its students posting scores of 3.5 or above, compared with 84 percent last year.

Palm Harbor University High and Tarpon Springs High both rose 5 percentage points, while Northeast High in St. Petersburg rose 4 percentage points.

But the news was not all good. Five high schools posted scores lower than last year. Among them was Pinellas Park High, which dropped 10 percentage points, and Clearwater High, which dropped 8 percentage points.

This year's test introduced "Writing Plus," a combination of the standard essay section with a new multiple choice section. The multiple choice questions were designed to measure skills such as writing focus and organization.

The new section will provide a more comprehensive account of a student's writing and language abilities, said Hanna Skandera, deputy education commissioner for accountability, research and measurement.

Scores on the multiple choice section will not be included in a school's grade until 2007, but parents will receive a scale score on their child's performance on the entire test, Skandera said.

Times staff writer Anne Lindberg contributed to this report.

[Last modified April 21, 2006, 08:11:55]