Science FCAT Now Part of Florida School Grades
Florida school grades now include the science portion of the FCAT test. That may not seem like a big deal to some, but several schools were in a panic over the discovery that their school would be based the science portion, which they felt many of their kids did poorly on.
Testing for the Science portion of the FCAT began in 2003. 2006 was the first year the Science FCAT scores were reported by Achievement Levels. Students in 5th, 8th, and 11th grade are required to take the Science FCAT test. No student below grade 3 is required to take any portion of the FCAT test.
The worry over the school grades stemmed from the fact that many students across the state had very low Science FCAT scores. Although more student s in 5th grade are performing at grade level or above on the Science FCAT, the majority of the 5th grade students,58%, performed below grade level. Scores for 8th graders are much worse; 62% of Florida 8th grades scored below grade level on the science FCAT. The 11th grade scores were not much better with 63% of those student earning Science FCAT scores below grade level.
Between 2006 and 2007 the amount of schools receiving an "A" grade increased by 5 from 1467 to 1472. During this same time the amount of schools receiving a "B" decreased by 141 from 610 to 469. "C" grades went from 570 to 588, "D" school grades went from 122 to 200, and "F" grades went from 21 to 82. Overall, schools across Florida saw a noticeable drop in their grades.
According data released by the Florida Department of Education, Hillsborough County schools faired pretty well. 106 of the schools in Hillsborough County earned an "A", 37 schools earned a "B", 48 earned a "C", 16 earned a "D", 5 earned an "F", and 1 went by the point system.
For Hernando schools, 8 earned an "A", 5 earned a "B", 5 earned a "C", 2 earned a "D", and none of the schools earned a "F."
For Manatee schools, 18 earned an "A", 14 earned a "B", 9 earned a "C", 8 earned a "D", none of the schools earned an "F" and 3 went by the point system.
For Pasco schools, 37 earned an "A", 10 earned a "B", 17 earned a "C", 3 earned a "D", none of the schools earned an "F" and 1 went by the point system.
For Pinellas schools, 70 earned an "A", 23 earned a "B", 24 earned a "C", 6 earned a "D", and none of the schools earned an "F" and 5went by the point system.
For Polk schools, 51 earned an "A", 22 earned a "B", 28 earned a "C", 7 earned a "D", 1 of the schools earned an "F", and 7 went by the point system.
Across the United States their have been a stress toward more of an improvement in the Science and Math for all students. The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 reported that United States 4th graders ranked fourth in Science and Mathematics behind Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Singapore.
Having the Science FCAT will hopefully increase student performance in areas of science as the years go by.
