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Florida Department of Education Unveils Revamped FSA Student Score Reports

February 5, 2016 - 4:00pm

Student score reports for the Florida Standards Assessment just got a new ‘do.

The Florida Department of Education unveiled samples of a revamped score report Friday. The new report is full of features to give students, parents and teachers deeper insight as to how their student performed on the state’s standardized assessment test.

Each spring, students all over Florida sit down at their desks or computers and take the state’s standardized test in a variety of subjects, from mathematics, English Language Arts and other end-of-course assessment subjects like Algebra and Geometry.

Today, the Department of Education released samples of the newly redesigned score reports for the FSA, statewide science assessments and statewide end-of-course assessments which will be distributed through district offices this spring. 

The standardized statewide assessments are used as a tool to determine students’ mastery of the standards they’re taught all year round. Score reports can be strong indicators of student successes in further grades and are distributed to parents and students throughout their school districts. 

“Our goal is to ensure Floridians have access to an education system that prepares all students for future success,” said Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart. “The standardized statewide assessments and the corresponding score reports are critical to achieving that goal because they provide students, parents and educators insight into what students have learned.”

The redesigned report cards come complete with five different sections to elaborate on student progress: descriptions, definitions, comparison, improvement and performance.

Click to Enlarge
Click to Enlarge

About the Score Card

The description area tells a student how well they performed on the FSA, with the department encouraging students and parents to get with teachers for better ideas on how to supplement in-class learning.

The definition section of the score report categorizes each student’s score in a specific grade level. Student scores are ranked on a 1-5 scale, ranging from “inadequate” (a score of “1”) to “mastery” (a score of “5”). This section of the report has been color-coded so parents can easily identify which score their student received. 

The comparison section of the score report tells how well a student fared against his fellow classmates statewide. Students can see how they performed against other students in their school, school district or across the state.

The performance section of the score report identifies a student’s individual strengths and weaknesses. According to the department, this section is specifically designed to help students, parents and educators know which areas to focus on to help students “reach their full potential.”

The improvement part of the score report will come complete with a list of resources for parents to “increase their knowledge,” regardless of how well they performed on the FSA. These resources will redirect back to the department website.

The State Board of Education made revamping the score report a priority during its January meeting, when Commissioner Stewart noted there was a tendency to use the terms “satisfactory” and “proficient” interchangeably despite the two being different levels entirely. 

“Satisfactory” now represents a level 3 score while “proficient” indicates a student achieves at a level 4.

State Board of Education Chair Marva Johnson praised the new score report and applauded the department’s quick turnaround time to release a redefined score report.

“Florida’s families deserve to know how their students performed, and I am confident that this enhanced score report will provide a great benefit to our state’s students and parents,” she said.

Commissioner Stewart explained the new reports will benefit students and teachers since they’ll be able to better understand what their test scores really mean.

“By knowing how well students grasped the information they are expected to know in each grade level, these individuals can work together to make adjustments that will lead to greater success in the future,” she said.


To see an example of the new score report, click here

 

 

Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.

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