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FLORIDA STUDENTS RECEIVE ENCOURAGING NEWS MIAMI- Florida students, parents, teachers and administrators received encouraging news yesterday regarding the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. According to a U.S. Department of Education report released today analyzing two-decades’ worth of NAEP data on the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students, Florida was the only state with a large, diverse population to claim a smaller gap than the nation for both reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8. “Our students continue to overcome significant hurdles to excel academically,” said Superintendent of Schools Alberto M. Carvalho. “In spite of high poverty and language differences, Miami-Dade’s students are outperforming students in other large urban areas. This success demonstrates the ability of our teachers, students, parents and community to bridge the achievement gap and continue on an upward trajectory of academic success.” Carvalho is the incoming president of the Association of Latino (Hispanic) Administrators and Superintendents (ALAS). ALAS sets the tone for education of Hispanic youth in the nation. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) constitutes 13 percent of the student population in Florida. M-DCPS students have participated as part of the Florida NAEP sample for years. In its inaugural year as a participant of the NAEP Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA), M-DCPS performed very well in direct comparisons among large urban districts which face similar challenges. The rest of the nation’s gap between white and Latino students has remained stagnant for the last two decades, as demonstrated by the national gap in 4th grade Mathematics at 21 points, 8th grade Mathematics at 26 points, 4th grade Reading at 25 points and 8th grade Reading at 24 points. In comparison students in Florida have breached that gap by over 50 percent with achievement of 4th grade Mathematics at 12 points, 8th grade Mathematics at 15 points, 4th grade Reading at 10 points and 8th grade Reading at 11 points. M-DCPS Hispanic students, in particular, scored remarkably well in all three subject areas which included Reading, Mathematics and Science – scoring above their counterparts even in the overall national sample of public school students. # # # 11-JJS/113/RAM |
