By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

Osceola County third-graders maintained the status quo for Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test reading and math scores, nearly holding steady with the previous year’s tallies, state reports released last week show.

Improvements were slight, just a percentage or two in the positive direction. However, these increases prove to Osceola County Schools Superintendent Terry Andrews strides are being made in the classroom.

“We will continue to keep the focus on improving the instruction happening in the classroom and to support our teachers with quality professional development to increase the learning gains for our students,” Andrews said.

FCAT reading and mathematics exams are scored from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest score.

Osceola third-graders who passed the reading exam with a level 3 or above increased from 69 percent in 2010 to 70 percent in 2011. Overall, Florida third-graders that scored a level 3 or above on the test held steady at last year’s level at 72 percent.

Additionally, 49 percent of Osceola County elementary schools increased their percentage of students scoring a level 3 or higher on the FCAT reading exam, Dana Schafer, School District spokeswoman, said.

The percentage of Osceola third-graders who scored at level 1 in FCAT reading decreased from 19 to 18 percent, while the state’s percentage of level 1 remained the same at 16 percent.

Fifty-two percent of Osceola County elementary schools reduced their percentage of grade 3 students scoring a level 1 in FCAT reading, the report detailed.

“We will continue to keep the focus on improving the instruction happening in the classroom and to support our teachers with quality professional development to increase the learning gains for our students,” Andrews said.

One percent of Osceola third-graders failed to score as high as their older peers in the math portion of the FCAT. Students dropped from 73 percent in 2010 to 72 percent in 2011 for those who scored a level 3 or higher in mathematics.

Statewide, the percentage was maintained year-to-year at 78 percent.

Additionally, 30 percent of Osceola County elementary schools increased their percentage of students scoring in achievement level 3 or higher on FCAT mathematics, Schafer said.

The percentage of Osceola third-graders who scored level 1 in FCAT mathematics remained the same as 2010 at 11 percent; the state’s percentage of level 1 scorers remained the same at 9 percent, the report stated.

However, 49 percent of Osceola County elementary schools reduced their percentage of third-grade students who scored a level 1 in FCAT mathematics.

“In the area of mathematics, new state standards required our students to think more analytically on this year’s test, which our students and teachers have been working diligently on,” Andrews said.

Fewer than 4,000 third-grade students took the FCAT math and reading tests this year, the state reported.

Neighboring counties varied in comparison to Osceola County.

Seventy percent of Orange County third-grade students also scored a level 3 or higher in FCAT reading. However, just 61 percent of Polk County third-graders scored that high on the same exam. In Seminole County, 83 percent of third-graders scored a level 3 or higher on the exam.

On the mathematics portion, those three Central Florida counties outscored Osceola County third-graders, with 74 percent of Polk County, 76 percent of Orange County and 86 percent of Seminole County students scoring a level 3 or higher in FCAT mathematics.

The Florida Department of Education is phasing out this version of the FCAT, introducing FCAT 2.0 and End-of-Course assessment exams next year, which the state is calling a “critical transition.”

“This transition is necessary to align the assessments with the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards – more rigorous curriculum standards that were adopted to help ensure students are being adequately prepared for college and today’s competitive job market,” the FDOE website states.