May 24, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

– NEWS RELEASE –

State Releases 2011-2012 FCAT Scores

Leon County Schools Beats State Average in Reading and Math

 Tallahassee, FL—Today the Florida Department of Education released the results from the 2011-2012 FCAT scores for the third grade reading and mathematics and also for the biology and geometry end-of-course exams. The scores reflect the State’s continued focus on increased rigor and changes to the third grade cut scores that determine proficiency. As expected, scores decreased across the state. Comparing the scores from this year to last year is difficult because of these changes.

The percent of LCS third grade students scoring level 3 or higher is above the State average in reading (+1%) and mathematics (+4%). Even with the increase in rigor, LCS showed a significant increase in the amount of students scoring at the highest level in third grade reading, with a 4% increase in those achieving Level 5 (10% to 14%). These scores ranked #3 in mathematics and #4 in reading for districts the size of LCS or larger. As expected due to the higher cut scores, the number of students eligible to attend the Summer Reading Academy, by scoring Level 1, increased from 445 to 504.

For the end-of-course exams, LCS was well above the state in students scoring in the top third on geometry (+18%) on biology (+15%). Eighty-one percent of LCS students scored in the top two-thirds in geometry and 76% in biology. End-of-course exam results are reported as a score in the “top-third”, “middle-third”, or “bottom-third” based on a Theta score. For this year’s ninth graders, the score will account for 30% of their course grade.

Fifty-two percent of LCS students scored in the top-third for the geometry exam, and 50% scored in the top-third in the biology exam. These scores ranked #2 in the state for districts the size of LCS or larger. At the middle school level, Deerlake and Montford both had 100% of their students score in the top-third in both geometry and biology. At the high school level, Chiles High had 75% of their geometry students and 70% of their biology students scored in the top-third.

“Leon County Schools continues to rank as one of the top school districts in the state of Florida,” said Jackie Pons, Superintendent of Leon Schools. “I want to thank our teachers, students and administrators for their hard work and dedication.”

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