Nassau County school testing results – An opinion

Submitted by Sharyl Wood
July 27, 2016 12:00 p.m.

The testing season for 2016 is over and the results have been posted.  While some negative attention has been distributed about test scores, I’d like to turn that frown upside down with some great news and information about Nassau County School District test results and school grades!

The following charts show Nassau County’s ranking among the 67 counties in Florida according to the percentage of students scoring level 3 (“proficient”) and above on each grade level’s Florida Standards Assessments.  Way to go, Nassau County 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade students and teachers for being in the top 3 statewide in both reading and mathematics.  Nassau 5^th graders are #1 in the state in math!  Also, congratulations to Nassau 7^th graders, who rank 3^rd in the state in math.

*English Language Arts

**The chart for Mathematics includes only students who took the general math FSA in 8^th grade.  All students, including 363 8^th graders who took Algebra 1, take the Algebra 1 end of course exam rather than the FSA Math test.

*** Includes all students who took the Algebra 1 end of course exam, grades 8-11, in Nassau County.

A little background information is in order.  The Florida Standards were implemented in elementary schools a year or so ahead of the standards in middle and high schools.  With the Florida Standards Assessments being new tests in 2014-15, and the tests were testing new standards with more rigorous expectations for students, Nassau County’s teachers and students did a great job in a short time increasing students’ skills!

Nassau elementary students scored better than 95.5% of students statewide in ELA and Mathematics, and middle and high school students scored better than 78% of students in the state or higher on these subject tests.

As for school grades, as expected when the standards and tests changed, many districts in the state dropped a letter grade.  Nassau went from an A to a B, however, just missed an A by one point.  Only three districts made an A, and Nassau and three other districts tied for 4^th in the state, one point behind 3^rd place and 2 points behind 2^nd place.  Nassau is in the top 7 districts or top 10.5% of districts in the state.

Data regarding test results and school grades is taken from the Florida Department of Education’s assessment results site (http://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/results/2016.stml) and the school grades site ( http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/).

Another test that’s been discussed recently is the SAT.  Yes, Nassau’s scores dropped as compared to previous years.  When a set of scores drops noticeably in a short time, there is normally a reason for that.

It’s certainly not likely that teachers and students all of a sudden fell down on the job that much in a year or two.  Sure enough, there is a reason for Nassau’s average score having dropped.

The Nassau County School District had the courage to change their way of doing things in order to give every high school student the opportunity to take the SAT, regardless of what the district knew would result in a drop in the average scores.

In previous years, only those college-bound students who chose to take the SAT took it.  This amounted to about half of the high school students.  But, in an effort to help all students envision the possibility of going to college, the district now offers the SAT FREE of charge to all students.  This then causes the inclusion of scores in the district average from students who would not have previously taken the test, which lowers the district average.   But this student-centered approach also opens the path to helping all student reach for a higher goal.

Through a partnership with the College Board, the college readiness program in Nassau County now includes all students in grades 8-12 and gives every student the chance to work individually to improve the probability of their success not only on college placement tests, but also in other attributes that are critical to success after high school.  Stay tuned to SAT score reporting in the future.  I predict that we will see an increase in the average SAT scores over the next several years, as well as in the number of students who pursue post-secondary education.

The Nassau County School District has a lot to celebrate in terms of our rankings in the state for student performance.  But let’s remember that the main reason for grades and scores should be to take each student where he or she is and help that student continue to reach for higher goals!

Editor’s Note: Sharyl Wood has been a Nassau County resident and educator since 1984. Having worked and been promoted through the school system as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and district-level director, Ms. Wood retired from her position as Executive Director of Administrative Services with the Nassau County School District in December 2015. She describes herself as an “extremely interested private citizen.”