Lee County school officials hailed the scores of third grade students taking the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in reading and math scores this year.
“It’s a testament to our teachers, students, principals — all of our staff — to see these results,” interim Superintendent Dr. Lawrence Tihen said in a prepared statement. “I am very proud of all the hard work put forth by everyone — our community should be extremely excited to see our students continue to reach new academic heights.”
The reading results for the third grade FCAT scores for level 3-5 has remained the same at 76 percent for the past three years in the Lee County School District, which is above the state average of 72 percent. The level one percentile for reading also has remained the same at 13 percent, compared to the state average of 16 percent for the past two years.
The students who were among the level one percentile for their reading scores will have an opportunity to take the SAT10 Reading Comprehensive Test in late May or early June. They will also have an option of attending a summer school reading program to improve their skills and will be assessed again at the end of the program.
According to state law, these students will be kept in third grade unless they are eligible for promotion through good cause exemptions.
The FCAT level 3-5 math scores for Lee County increased from a 79 percent to an 82 percent, which is higher than the state average of 78 percent.
Trafalgar Elementary School Principal Marie Vetter said the third grade FCAT scores went from a 88 percent last year to a 94 percent in reading this year and in math they went from a 92 percent last year to a 97 percent this year.
“It makes me feel that I have excellent teachers that utilize specific strategies and they targeted those strategies with the students that needed them,” Vetter said. “I am very proud of our scores.”
She said she believes the test scores improved because the teachers are using the data from previous test scores more effectively. Vetter said being a Kagan Model School also has helped the students due to the 200 varieties of Kagan structure the teachers use in their classroom.
In addition, Trafalgar Elementary third, fourth and fifth graders have been participating in a math tournament, which Vetter believes also has helped the students.
A school-wide celebration will be held before the end of the school year, she said, for all the FCAT scores.
In early June the district will receive individual student reports, which will be mailed to the parents as soon as possible. If parents have questions about their child’s score they are encouraged to call their school.