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Pinellas students improve on FCAT writing test
Article published on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 |
PINELLAS COUNTY – Pinellas County shows positive results in Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Writing+ scores.
These are the first FCAT scores for 2008 and were released May 8. Students take the writing test in grades four, eight and 10.
The county showed improvement from 2007 in its average scores, with grade four improving by three points, grade eight by five points, and grade 10 by two points. Each of the grades either exceeded or met the state’s average scores.
A score of three out of a six-point scale means a student performed at grade level. Each tested grade improved slightly from last year in the percentage of students who scored at least a three on the writing test.
“Thanks to the efforts of dedicated teachers and support team members, we continue to see improvement in our students’ writing skills,” said superintendent Clayton Wilcox in a press release. “While we have great challenges ahead, it is particularly gratifying to see continued improvement each year.”
There were 38 Pinellas elementary schools, 12 middle schools and two high schools that increased the percentage of students scoring a 3.5 or higher on the FCAT Writing+ essay from last year’s scores. One of these is Osceola Middle School from Seminole, which now has 95 percent of its eighth-graders scoring a 3.5 or higher.
“As principal at Osceola Middle School, I am very proud of our FCAT Writing+ results,” said Bob Vicari in a press release. “Over the past four years, we have increased our overall score by .2 each and every year to reach our current 4.5 score. All the hard work and dedication of our teachers, students and school community is to be commended.”
County-wide, 88 percent of eighth-graders scored a 3.5 or above, which is the highest it has scored since the test began in 2002.
However, the county’s average of fourth- and 10th-graders scoring 3.5 or higher fell this year. The fourth-graders’ score slipped to 77 percent from 78 percent last year, but it’s still the second-highest it has been. The 10th-grade average is the lowest it has ever been, down to 77 percent from last year’s 81 percent.
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Article published on Wednesday, May 14, 2008
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