State reading scores remained the same this year, according to FCAT results announced Monday.
The inaugural year of "FCAT 2.0" testing showed steady performance by students in grades 3-10.
Math scores in grades 3-8 also matched last year's results.
Department of Education officials said the "2.0" scores were based on new testing content, but could be "linked" to previous years' scores for valid comparisons.
Education Commissioner Eric Smith said the 2012 reading and math exams -- with new cut scores -- would likely reveal more year-to-year differences.
This year's reading scores showed the percentage of students scoring at Level 3 (proficient) or above ranged from a high of 72 percent in third grade to just 38 percent in 10th grade. Scores generally dropped with each advancing grade level.
In math, third-graders also were the top performers, with 78 percent scoring at Level 3 or above. Sixth-graders posted the lowest math scores, with 57 percent scoring at Level 3 or above.
Proficiency-plus rates among 10th-graders, who took the older version of the math exam, fell from 73 percent last year to 71 percent this year.
Meantime, Smith applauded students for raising science scores. Fourth-graders scoring at Level 3 (proficient) or above, climbed from 49 percent to 51 percent. Eighth-graders moved up from 43 to 46 and 11th-graders rose from 38 to 40.
Im very encouraged by the continued progress we are seeing in science, but the overall performance of our students is still far too low, Smith said.
Important changes have recently been made to accelerate this progress, including increased graduation requirements that include critical science courses, our next generation curriculum standards that hone in on core science concepts and our Race to the Top win that has given us additional resources to concentrate on this vital subject area.
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Reach Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or at (772) 801-5341.
