May 24, 2019
Pinellas County Schools’ third-graders increased their proficiency rate three percentage points on the English Language Arts (ELA) Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) according to results released today by the Florida Department of Education. The state’s percentage of proficient students increased by one point.
Districtwide, 68.3 percent of the district’ schools increased or remained the same in their proficiency rates.
Over 25 percent of the district’s schools (20 schools) saw double-digit increases in proficiency rates including: Belcher (+22), Blanton (+16), Brooker Creek (+13), Dunedin (+13), High Point (+17), Northwest (+23), Sanderlin (+25), Starkey (+24) and Woodlawn (+18).
The district’s highest performing schools were Tarpon Springs Fundamental, Brooker Creek and Cypress Wood elementary, scoring 97%, 89% and 84% respectively.
Within the Transformation Zone, seven of 11 schools increased their third-grade reading scores with significant gains at Ponce de Leon and Campbell Park elementary both going up 17 percentage points.
This substantial increase is a result of the district working aggressively to prioritize reading achievement in the early grades. Pinellas County Schools engaged in a year-long study of its K-5 literacy practices, seeking input from all stakeholders including students, teachers and administrators. The district is fully committed to using the recommendations of this audit to continue to improve curriculum, professional development and instructional practices to accelerate this positive trend.
The next set of data, including all FSA scores in ELA and Mathematics for grades 3-10 and End-of-Course Exam scores, are due to arrive on or before June 30, 2019.
