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MIAMI-DADE FCAT RESULTS SHOW SIGNIFICANT GAINS MIAMI – Miami-Dade County students in nearly every grade recorded gains on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) this spring, raising both the percentage of children considered proficient in reading and math and the county’s average scores in those subjects. In reading, the percentage of students deemed proficient by the state rose in five of the seven grades for which results were released Thursday by Gov. Jeb Bush and Education Commissioner John Winn. Similarly, county students’ average reading score rose in six of seven grades tested. In math, the percentage of proficient students rose in six of the seven grades. Math scores climbed in five grades and remained the same in the other two. About 190,000 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) in 4th through 10th grade took FCAT in late February and early March. Results for the county’s 3rd graders were released last week, and showed similar improvement trends. Students in grades 5, 8 and 11 also took the FCAT science test, with average scores climbing in both grades 5 and 8; juniors took the science test for the first time this year. In 5th grade, the District’s gain was double the statewide increase. Miami-Dade’s best results in reading and math came in 5th grade, where the percentage of proficient students in reading rose to 64 percent from 49 percent in 2004, and in math to 57 percent from 47 percent. Average scores also rose the most in 5th grade. In secondary schools, the percentage of 9th graders considered proficient in reading rose to 28 percent from 22 percent in 2004, with math proficiency growing to 48 percent of students from 41 percent the year before. M-DCPS sophomores continued to struggle with the 10th grade FCAT, which is required for high school graduation. Forty-one percent of sophomores passed the reading section of the test on their first attempt and 68 percent passed the math section. Statewide, the passing rate on the 10th grade test dropped slightly in reading and rose slightly in math, a trend followed in Miami-Dade. When compared to statewide results, M-DCPS students narrowed the gap in achievement between themselves and the rest of the state in grades 5, 6, 7 and 9 in reading and in grades 5, 6, 9 and 10 in math in terms of the percentages of proficient students. Average scores rose faster than the state average in grades 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 in reading and in grades 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in math. When compared to performance gains reported in 2004, in most cases M-DCPS improved more in 2005 in terms of both the growth in the percentages of students scoring at the proficient level in reading and math and the increase in average scores. ### 05-LJG/187 |
