BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Editor
The numbers are in and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are evident in the results of the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA), the Statewide Science Assessment (SSA) and the end of class (EOC) tests. These tests are given in every district and are mandated by the state. (Note: This current school year will be the last students will see of the FSA. This controversial test will be replaced by more frequent progress monitoring exams, to be given three times during the school year.)
In the subject area of English Language Arts (ELA), students in grades three through ten have been tested annually. Students in grades five and eight take the (SSA), while students of any grade level who complete a course in Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, U.S. History or Civics take the EOC exams. Results are tabulated, first for each school district in the state and are based on the percentage of students who are functioning on at or better than grade level.
The Florida Department of Education has released the results that cover the period of the last three years, although there have only been two years within that time that the testing was done. Districts show only a cumulative score for each district and individual subject scores, by grade, for the years 2019 and 2021.
On the FSA in ELA, the state average score was 55% (the percentage of students performing at or above grade level. According to the cumulative figures (basically, the average of all of the individual scores in all listed subjects) for the entire district, in grades 3-10, Nassau County School District had the highest percentage in the state with a score of 67%. The lowest score among the school districts was for Jefferson County at 32%.
In the breakdown for 2019, the state average was 57% for grades three through five, with St. Johns County schools scoring a state-wide high score of 77% and Jefferson County School District posting 37% for the lowest scoring district in this area. For grades six through eight, the state average was 54%, with Sarasota County claiming the highest score at 65% and Hamilton County logging the lowest score at 31%. For grades nine through ten the state average was 54% with Nassau, Liberty, Santa Rosa and Calhoun counties all scoring a high of 65%. Jefferson County schools produced the state low score with 26%.
The cumulative and individual district 2021 scores showed the effects of COVID-19, with lost class time and mandated distance learning. In grades three through ten the state average was 52%, with St. John’s County School District taking top honors with a score of 73% and Jefferson County posting the lowest score at 28%. The breakdown shows the state average as 53% for grades three through five with St. John’s County once again producing the highest district score with 77% and Gadston County coming in low with a score of 26%. In grades six through eight, the state average was 51%, with St. John’s County district taking top score with 70% and Jefferson County coming in for the low score of 27%. In the scores for grades nine through ten, the state average was 50%, with St. John’s County Schools taking top honors again with a score of 74% and Hamilton County coming in low at 24%.
Locally, the Bradford County School District produced a cumulative score on the FSA for ELA, for grades three through ten for 2019, of 44%, dropping to 40% in 2021, with a statewide score of 55% in 2019 and 52% in 2021. In the breakdown, Bradford students scored 49% in grades three through five in 2019 and 50% in 2021, 41% in grades six through eight in 2019 and 32% in grades nine through 10 in 2021.
The Clay County School district performed a little better, with a 2019 cumulative score of 62% dropping to 59% in 2021. Grades three through five showed scores of 65% in 2019 and 62% in 2021. The score for grades six through eight was 62% in 2019, dropping to 59% in 2021. The 2019 score for Clay County for grades nine through ten was 59% and dropped to 54% in 2021.
For 2019, the Union County School District showed a cumulative score of 60%, dropping to 53% in 2021. Grades three through five scored 67% in 2019 and 59% in 2021. In grades six through eight, 2019 testing brought a score of 55%, dropping to 53% in 2021. The biggest drop in the Union District came in grades nine through ten, with a score of 58% in 2019, dipping to 45% in 2021.
In FSA science testing there are two categories for general science and one for biology (which also includes scores on EOC tests).
In grade five science scores for 2019, the state average was 53%, with the highest score being 73% from both Nassau and St. John’s counties, with Gadsden County coming in last at 30%. In 2021, with state average of 47% Nassau County held its place at the top of grade 5 with a score of 76% and Jefferson County took the low score placement with 10%.
In grade eight, for 2019, the state average was 51%. St. John’s County took top honors with 73% and Glades County was the lowest scoring district with a score of 25%. In 2021 eighth graders faced a state average of 48% with St. John’s County taking top honors with 70% and both Glades and Jefferson counties sharing the low score of 22%.
In grades six through 12 biology 1, the state average for 2019 was 67% with St. John’s County scoring an 88% and Glades County 22% as the highest and lowest scores. Walton County Schools took the highest placement in 2021, with 77% facing a 62% state average. The lowest score for the year came from Glades County at 6%.
Bradford County showed grade five scores of 39% in 2019 (state average 53%) and held that score in 2021. In grade eight, Bradford students scored 37% in 2019, then dropped a couple of percentage points to score 35% in 2021. In grades six-12 biology 1, Bradford County test takers scored 61% in 2019, dropping to 59% in 2021.
Union County fifth graders scored 55% in 2019, then dropped to 39% in 2021. In grade eight, Union student scored 46% in 2019, then dropped to 41% in 2021. Grades six-12 Biology 1 students in Union scored 73% in 2019, dropping to 68% in 2021.
In 2019 mathematics testing, the state average was for grades three through eight was 61%, Nassau County students brought home a score of 78% to take the number one spot in the state, while both Jefferson and Desoto counties took the low spot with 40%.
In a breakdown, St. John’s County scored 81% for 2019 in grades three through five (state average 62%) and the Union County School District scored 75% for grades six through eight (state average 59%). In 2021 the state average was 51% for grades three through eight, with Lafayette County making the high score at 69% and Jefferson County coming in at the lowest with 27%. In grades three through five for 2021 the state average was 52%, with Lafayette County again taking top billing at 69% and both Gadsden and Jefferson counties scoring at the bottom with 30%. The scores for grades six through eight, the state average was 50%, with St. John’s County taking the top spot with 76% and Franklin County bringing up the rear with 29%.
In 2019, Bradford County scored a 52% in grades three through eight, dropping to 44% in 2021. For grades three through five, Bradford students scored 52% in 2019, then dropped again to 46% in 2021. Bradford grades six through eight scored 52% in 2019 but dropped to 41% in 2021.
Clay County scored 68% in all three grade ranges in 2019 and dropped to 61% in the same three ranges in 2021.
In 2019, Union County scored 76% in grades three through eight, then dropped to 62% in 2021. Union scores in grades three through five were 78% for 2019 dropping to 66% for 2021. For grades six through eight, Union students earned a score of 75% in 2019, with a dramatic drop to 57% in 2021.
Two EOC scores were reported along with the FSA results – those for grades five-12 civics and grades 7-12 U.S. History.
In 2019, the state average for EOC Civics courses was 71%, dropping to 64% in 2021. St. John’s County took top place with a score of 90% in 2019, dropping to 88% in 2021, but still holding on to top spot. Hamilton County was the lowest scoring in 2019, with 38%, with Hamilton County hit the bottom in 2021 with a score of 38%.
Locally, Bradford County civics score for 2019 was 58%, improving to 63% in 2021. Clay County scored 80% in 2019 but dropped to 77% in 2021. Union County scored 79% in 2019, dropping to 67% in 2021.
In U.S. History, grades four through seven, the state average was 69%. St. John’s County brought in the high 2019 score with 88% and Glades County was at the bottom with 28%. For 2021, (state average 63%) Nassau County scored 79% with Glades County coming in last at 27%.
Bradford showed a score of 71% in 2019, rising to 74% in 2021. Clay County scored 80% in 2019 but dropped to 77% in 2021. Union County brought in a score of 79% in 2019, but also dropped, in this case down to 74%.
A general overview of the score report shows the same trend in most school districts. Scored before the COVID-19 disruption of the school year were higher (2019) and dropped after students returned to the traditional learning environment (2021). Many districts did not even have a plan for the distance learning required to continue the education of students when it was unsafe to attend tradition classes and all of the districts found themselves on a steep and somewhat slippery learning curve. Hopefully the scores will stabilize in the future and students will be able to make the most the education offered them at their local schools.
