Local FCAT Scores Mixed; Some North Escambia Schools Soar

May 24, 2014

Partial results were released Friday from this year’s FCAT 2.0 testing, with several North Escambia schools making the highest scores in the county.

The results released Friday include third grade reading, third grade math, fourth grade writing, eighth grade writing and 10th grade writing. Test scores for other subjects and grades will be issued sometime in June.

In Escambia County, 55 percent of third grade students were proficient in reading, and 49 percent were proficient in math. In writing, 42 percent of fourth grade students, 46 percent of eighth graders and 58 percent of 10th grade students were at  a 3.5 proficient level or greater.

North Escambia Standouts

With 84 percent of students proficient in third grade reading, Byrneville Elementary School was second in the district only to Pensacola Beach Elementary School.  At Molino Park Elementary School, 95 percent of third graders were proficient in math, the highest level in Escambia County, with Bryneville Elementary second at 81 percent. Only 11 schools in the entire state scored higher than Molino Park.

In writing, Ernest Ward Middle School had 73 percent of eighth graders score a proficient grade level score of 3.5 or greater — the highest school score in Escambia County. Second highest were the Beulah Academy of Science and Bailey Middle Schools with 56 percent.

West Florida High School was tops in tenth grade writing with 81 percent at score of 3.5 or greater; Northview was fourth at 62 percent behind the Escambia Virtual Academy and Pensacola High School.

North Escambia Scores

Here are the results from North Escambia (District 5) schools:

Third Grade Reading And Math


Writing

Comments

18 Responses to “Local FCAT Scores Mixed; Some North Escambia Schools Soar”

  1. Panthers on May 26th, 2014 9:47 pm

    Nice score Pine Meadow Panthers!

  2. Predra on May 26th, 2014 7:07 pm

    When will parents find out the scores. Some children have been told their scores will determine if they go to the next grade.

  3. Linda on May 26th, 2014 10:29 am

    Congrats Molino Park 3rd Grade Teachers!!! Good for you….

  4. John on May 25th, 2014 8:53 am

    I could tell you how to fix the Escambia County School System but I would be run out of town.

  5. John on May 25th, 2014 7:38 am

    Give all the teachers the FCAT and post their scores. Oh! that won’t happen as they are afraid half the teachers will FAIL!!!!!!

  6. M in Bratt on May 25th, 2014 7:37 am

    Would somebody please fix the Escambia County School System. Our kids consistently score 20% or more behind Santa Rosa County Schools. It’s amazing what crossing the bridge to Santa Rosa will do for teachers ability to teach kids to read and add and subtract

  7. Robert S. on May 25th, 2014 7:34 am

    Thank you for helping me make sense out of these scores.
    Of course Parents, Teachers, School Workers, Administrators and Students have all played very important roles in achieving the good scores for the North End students.

    Noticed the other day in the NorthEscambia report on the legislature’s progress (This Week in…) that our lawmakers and education overseers are removing all references to “Common Core” from student testing / school grading for 2014-15 and forward and replacing “CC” with “Florida Standards”.

    This is seemingly done to ease the concerns of those who were worried that “Common Core” carried too much connection to federal intervention into local control of education. Sort of a “re-branding” of Common Core and allowing some state and local input to the future evaluations.

    Parents, Students, Schools you ALL provide an Excellent Opportunity for our students to learn and prepare themselves for the future. Thank You.

  8. Single Father on May 24th, 2014 3:51 pm

    Everyone says Congrats to the Teachers this and way to go teachers that. It’s the kids that worked hard and spent countless hours at night studying for these stupid tests. My 3rd Grader from Molino Park averaged around 3 to 4 hours of homework a night 2 huge math sheets front and back, spelling words, a FCAT booklet, and reading book assignments. These amazing teachers piled tons of homework on these kids to try and get a good score. If the child didn’t complete the homework assigned his citizenship grade was dropped in class. Congrats on the great score teachers it was the Kids and Parents that got you there. Now maybe since the tests are over my kid can come home from school and actually get to be a kid once in a while. Not stuck at the table working on school work all night.

  9. Nancy Perry on May 24th, 2014 3:14 pm

    @ Robert S. FCAT Writing 2.0 us based on a 6 point scale. 6 being a perfect paper. 3.5 is the states cut score on schools earning points for a school grade. The writing only test grades 4, 8, and 10th grades, (this will change next year: FL Standards (Common Core) . So 73% of all the 8th graders at Ernest Ward scored a 3.5 or higher. However, we had on 3 scores below a 3.0. (The scale is a 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0). The are graded on spelling, grammar, writing, etc… To sum it all up…..there were 995 schools in Florida that tested 8th graders and Ernest Ward was 121st out of 995 schools.
    Next, as I told my kids aka my students…”the day of the test and yesterday: your teachers did their jib in teaching you, your parents rid there job pushing you, fussing at you, encouraging you, and loving you!! But the power shifted to YOU (the student) on test day. You were in control and you rocked!! I told those who scored a 3.0 and below, I am just as proud of you cause you made gains and you keeping working and you WILL succeed.”

  10. No Excuses on May 24th, 2014 2:40 pm

    @ Robert: It’s called a Rubric. There are six categories with 6 being the highest and 1 being the lowest. The scores are based on the descriptions for each rubric. For example, if a child scores a “3″, then their writing submission has the features described under the 3 category for the test. If they have a “3.5″, then they have all the features of a three and some of the features of a four. There are usually two different people that read the submissions and then score them. The final score is a combination of the two independent reader’s scores. Hope this helps to make sense of what the numbers mean, at least for the writing test. The GED test for writing is scored in a similar fashion.

  11. Proud Mom on May 24th, 2014 1:39 pm

    Way to go Ernest Ward 8th graders! Very proud of you!

  12. Barbara Kilcrease on May 24th, 2014 11:16 am

    So proud of Byrneville , great teachers make great students!!!!! HOPING 5th grade did as well or better. A great bunch all bundled into one little school.
    Thank you all again for what you do for our kids.

  13. William on May 24th, 2014 10:03 am

    >>”So…what does all of this cryptic mumbo-jumbo really mean?”

    “proficient grade level score of 3.5 or greater”

    3.5 is passing, on grade level.

  14. Daveda on May 24th, 2014 9:59 am

    Robert S., I am pretty sure it’s 3.5 out of 5. 5 being extraordinary. 4 being very good, 3 is just good.

  15. Proud Byrneville Parent on May 24th, 2014 8:58 am

    Congrats to Byrneville students and teachers!

  16. John on May 24th, 2014 7:52 am

    If the parents don’t take an interest in their children’s educations we have problems like this. I believe that video games, computers and television are getting in the way. You have collage and pro athletes who can’t read above third grade level because the schools only care about their ability to play sports.

  17. Robert S. on May 24th, 2014 7:33 am

    So…what does all of this cryptic mumbo-jumbo really mean?

    “In writing, Ernest Ward Middle School had 73 percent of eighth graders score a 3.5 or greater…”

    What, please, does the “…score a 3.5 or greater…” mean?

    3.5 or greater of what? 3.5 out of 10, 3.5 of 50, 3.5 of 100?

    Maybe the state should just rank the schools from Better score to Least Good score and then you’d know where to send the kids.

    Maybe just shuttle your kids around to one school for Math and another school for Reading and maybe a different school for Writing? Being ridiculous of course but to just have percentages tossed out makes no sense — at least to me.

  18. Sarah-Jane on May 24th, 2014 5:48 am

    Congratulations Molino Park 3rd Grade Teachers….Ms Fletcher, Ms Barnes, Ms Godwin and Ms Lowery…….your Math scores were awesome.