Florida State Assessment grades reflect hard year

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — State-wide, there was a dip in this year’s third graders scores for the English Language Arts (ELA) Florida State Assessment (FSA).

“These third graders were also first grade students when Hurricane Michael came through. So these students in the first grade had interruption in their instruction as well and maybe missed some foundational skills,” said Denise Kelley, Deputy Superintendent.

Additionally, these third graders missed their last nine weeks of second grade due to the pandemic.

School district officials said after comparing 2019’s testing scores to this year’s, it appeared in-person instruction leads to better scores.

“This coming year, I encourage everybody to keep your kids well and send them everyday so that we can do what we need to do to get everybody caught up where they need to be,” said Ilea Faircloth, Highland Park Elementary School Principal.

As for the students who scored low, they were offered the chance to participate in summer school.

At the beginning of the summer program, students take an assessment to show teachers where they’re at.

“It is absolutely beneficial to see the kids walk in the door and the things that they are learning. Some of them small. But some others, that had larger gaps… it’s amazing to see how much one day can do,” said Faircloth.

Third grade students who achieved a level 2 or higher on the assessment are considered passing. In Bay County, the data shows 23% of them scored at a level 1.

If you would like to know your child’s ELA Florida State Assessment score, log onto your parent portal.

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