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Florida students ace most recent statewide assessment

A student sits at a desk in a classroom
Kate Payne
/
WLRN
The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking helps educators gauge student learning in VPK through high school on a variety of different subjects. This school year, 53% of students in grades 3 to 10 scored at or above grade level in English Language Arts, a 4% increase from the previous year.

The scores are in and Florida students performed better this year compared to the previous year on a three-times-a-year statewide assessment.

, helps educators gauge student learning in VPK through high school on a variety of different subjects and is administered three times a year.

This school year, 53% of students in grades 3 to 10 scored at or above grade level in English Language Arts, a 4% increase from the previous year.

And 55% of students in grades 3 to 8 scored at or above grade level in math, a 4% percent increase from last year.

READ MORE: Turning STEM majors into educators to tackle a teacher shortage ā€” and a ā€˜disconnectā€™

Student scores on the grade 5 and 8 science assessment and social studies portions of the test also improved year-over-year.

FAST was administered for the first time during the 2022-2023 school year, when it replaced the former Florida Standards Assessments under a new education law.

Governor Ron DeSantis and other supporters said FAST cuts down on yearly testing and eliminates a big end-of-the-year test.

The , arenā€™t happy with the new test. They said FAST actually increases testing throughout the year, and requires even Pre-K students to take the test.

But, Education Commissioner Manny Diaz says that the more frequent testing known as progress or benchmark monitoring is working, as evidenced by this yearā€™s results.

ā€œThe substantial gains achieved by Floridaā€™s students on all statewide assessments demonstrate that progress monitoring is working,ā€ Diaz said.

Hereā€™s a list of tests students improved on year-over-year and how they did: 

  • Grades 3-10 ELA: Statewide, 53% of students scored on or above grade level in 2024, an increase of 4 percentage points from 2023.
  • Mathematics (PM3 and EOCs): Statewide, 55% of students scored on or above grade level in 2024, an increase of 4 percentage points from 2023.


Takeaways from Statewide Science Assessments

  • Grade 5 Science: 53% scored on or above grade level in 2024, a 2 percentage point increase from 2023.
  • Grade 8 Science (including Grade 8 students who took Biology 1): 49% scored on or above grade level in 2024, a 2 percentage point increase from 2023.
  • Biology 1: 66% scored at or above Level 3 in 2024, a 3 percentage point increase from 2023.


Takeaways from Statewide Algebra 1 and Geometry Assessments

  • Algebra 1: 53% of students scored at or above Level 3 in 2024, a 3 percentage point increase from 2023.
  • Geometry: 52% of students scored at or above Level 3 in 2024, a 6 percentage point increase from 2023.


Takeaways from Statewide Social Studies Assessments

  • Civics: 67% of students scored at or above Level 3 in 2024, a 1 percentage point increase from 2023.
  • U.S. History: 67% of students scored at or above Level 3 in 2024, a 5 percentage point increase from 2023.

Copyright 2024 Central Florida Public Media

Danielle Prieur
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