Okaloosa County school officials still are in the early stages of sorting through the first batch of FCAT results.
The unexpected scores showed the number of students passing the writing exam had fallen below the state average and that fewer third-graders passed the math section of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test than last year.
“Currently, both the district and the schools are analyzing 3rd grade FCAT scores in a concerted effort to pinpoint areas in need of improvement as well as areas of strength,” Superintendent of Schools Mary Beth Jackson wrote in an email. “We are not only examining grade level scores, but we are narrowing the focus down to individual teachers.”
A closer examination of the data — which was released May 24 by the Florida Department of Education and included third grade math and reading scores and fourth, eighth and 10th grade writing scores — showed a 20 percent decline in passing rates in some areas and 28 percent improvement in others.
Bluewater Elementary School, which consistently has one the highest pass rates of elementary schools, saw a universal decline in writing, reading and math scores. The biggest dip was in math, in which the number of students passing it with a score of 3 or higher dropped from 87 percent to 75 percent.
At the other end of the spectrum was Elliott Point Elementary School, with a nearly 10 percent improvementin all three sets of results released.
Five other elementary schools, including a charter school, joined Elliott Point in universal improvement. Kenwood was the only other elementary school to show a universal decline in scores.
Jackson said it is too early to determine the exact cause, but the school district and individual schools were looking into the scores and what might have caused them — good or bad.
“If a school who predominantly scores well shows a significant decrease, it is important not to overreact,” Jackson said. “Simply put, this may be a one-year trend.”
Jackson said she and her staff are waiting for the results from the rest of the exams before any real conclusions are drawn. The Department of Education is expected to release FCAT reading, math and science scorestoday along with the results of the state end-of-course exams in Algebra I, Geometry, Biology I and U.S. History.
“Our students, parents, teachers, and community can expect the district as a whole to come together and support each other,” Jackson wrote. “Like I previously stated, we have the best educators in the state of Florida teaching and leading in our schools.
“This is not a time to lay blame. Rather, this is a time to come together and enact a course of action that will lead to sustained growth in student achievement.”
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Katie Tammen at 850-315-4440 or ktammen@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KatieTnwfdn.