Miami Herald – Kathleen McGrory Crline
“In reading, 32 percent of Florida students scored at or above grade level, as compared to 36 percent of students nationally. In math, 19 percent of Florida students scored at or above proficiency. Nationally, the figure was 25 percent. Three states underperformed the national average on both exams: Florida, Alabama and West Virginia. Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and South Dakota bested the national average in both subject areas.”(more)
Outside the Box – Juliann Talkington
“The national statistics are abysmal – 64% of our high seniors are not reading at grade level and 75% are not at grade level in math. The statistics in Florida are downright embarrassing – 68% of the 12th graders are not reading at grade level and 81% are not at grade level in math. The State of Florida is spending close to $120,000 to educate each child (and this number doesn’t count all the county contributions). And 12th grade students can’t handle grade level reading and math? WHAT IS WRONG?
And with these results, one has to wonder what it means to attend a “top” Florida high school. Does this mean 25% of the 12th graders at that school can handle grade level math? If it is 25% or even 45%, kids at our “top” schools are in big trouble. And why is the data so hard to find? Shouldn’t a one page summary of the information on the total expenditures per student (including the county contributions) be available to every taxpayer and the national test results for every participating school in Florida be made available to all families with school age children? Also, what does performance on this test say about the rigor of the FCAT?
For more information on the reading and math results (complete report), click here. For more information on the math results, click here.”