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Schools raise writing scores
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| By: Mark J. Crawford, Editor |
May 07, 2009 |
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In almost every case Bradford County schools have improved FCAT writing scores.
The greatest gains were seen at the elementary school level. Starke and Southside elementary fourth-graders led the district again this year, setting even higher bar than last year. Fourth-graders at the district's largest elementary schools averaged a score of 4.3 points out of 6 on the essay exam.
Eighty-seven percent of fourth-graders at Starke Elementary scored 3.5 points or more on the test, meaning they are writing at or above grade level. Eighty-eight percent of the fourth-graders at Southside performed at that level.
"I am very proud of our students, faculty and administrators," said Bradford School Superintendent Beth Moore. "There has been a tremendous amount of time and effort devoted to teaching students writing skills and it has paid off."
The FCAT Writing exam is given to fourth-, eighth-, and 10th-graders, and while passing the test is not a graduation requirement, the state has nevertheless been measuring writing performance for 17 years.
The multiple choice component of the test, originally introduced in 2006 as "Writing+," was eliminated this year as a way of saving money in a lean budget year, so there are no scores to compare with prior years. The Legislature has affirmed that multiple choice will be reintroduced in the 2012-2013 school year.
Following closely behind the elementary schools in Starke was Lawtey Community School where fourth-graders averaged 4.2 points. This was also an improvement over last year, and whereas 79 percent of students scored 3.5 or above last year, 87 percent performed that well this year.
Meanwhile, Hampton Elementary saw its fourth-graders average a slightly higher score than last year, 3.7 versus 3.6, and the average writing at or above grade level remained at 65 percent.
The only school that did not show some improvement was Brooker Elementary, which was down a tenth of a point to 3.6 this year. Sixty-two percent of fourth-graders there scored 3.5 or more, compared to 71 percent last year.
Still, even in a year when fourth-graders statewide were on average able to raise their scores, those in Bradford County continue to outperform them (4.1 versus 4.0). Looking more locally, Bradford fourth-graders generally did better on FCAT Writing than those in Baker County as well 4.1 versus 4.0), although students in Keystone Heights (4.5) and Lake Butler (4.4) are achieving higher scores.
In fact, ninety-eight percent of fourth-graders at Keystone Heights Elementary School and 93 percent at Lake Butler Elementary School are writing at or above grade level.
The Bradford School District has only one eighth-grade class this year since that grade level was eliminated from Lawtey Community School. While eighth-graders at Bradford Middle School don't beat historic scores at Lawtey, they did get closer this year. Bradford Middle School eighth-graders improved the school average by two-tenths of a point to 3.7.
What's more, a much higher percentage are writing at or above grade level. Seventy-three percent scored 3.5 points or above versus just 61 percent last year.
Unlike the fourth grade, eighth-graders in the district aren't performing aw well as others in the state. Statewide the average score was 4.3 and 90 percent scored at or above grade level.
Lake Butler Middle School eighth-graders did even better than that, averaging an outstanding 4.7 points out of 6 and 94 percent of students writing at or above their grade level.
Baker County was right at the state level, while students at Keystone Heights Jr. High School trailed statewide performance, averaging 4.1 points with 83 percent scoring 3.5 or above.
Statewide, 10th-graders stumbled a bit, lowering the state average. Not so at Bradford High School where 10th-graders showed slight improvement, raising the average writing score a tenth of a point to 3.6. A higher percentage of 10th-graders also passed the writing exam with a score or 3.5 or higher-67 versus 64 percent.
Students in Baker County and Keystone Heights did as well as Bradford 10th-graders, although a higher percentage of students here were writing at or above grade level.
One again, though, Union County students outperformed other local students. Union County High School 10th-graders averaged 4.4 points on their essays and 93 percent scored 3.5 or above.
State statistics
In Florida since 1999:
The percentage of grade 4 students scoring 3.5 and above has increased from 34 percent to 85 percent, reflecting a positive 10-year data trend.
The percentage of grade 8 students scoring 3.5 and above has increased from 51 percent to 90 percent, reflecting a positive 10-year data trend.
The percentage of grade 10 students scoring 3.5 and above has increased from 60 percent to 77 percent, reflecting a positive 10-year data trend.
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©Bradford County Telegraph 2009
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