Florida students make ‘substantial gains’ on state tests, new results show

Leslie Postal, Orlando Sentinel
Updated ·2 min read

Florida students showed improvement in all key academic subjects this school year, making gains in math and reading as well as science and social studies, according to state standardized test scores released this morning.

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz praised the “notable” and “substantial gains” made by public school students in the 2023-24 school year as the Florida Department of Education released scores from FAST, a series of standardized exams taken by students in grades 3 through high school.

This is the second year Florida students took FAST, which was introduced last year and replaced the FSA’s reading and math exams.

On the key third-grade reading test, 22% failed this year, putting them at risk of being held back, but that was down from 27% failing in 2023.

Math scores — which in recent years suffered the biggest hit because of the COVID-19 pandemic — improved from last year, too, but still lagged from pre-pandemic levels, based on comparisons to scores on previous tests. This year, for example, 53% passed the algebra 1 exam, which is a graduation requirement, up from 50% last year. But in 2019, 60% passed the FSA algebra test.

Central Florida school districts largely mirrored the state, showing improvement on most tests.

In Orange County, for example, 69% of students who took the state biology exam passed this year, up from 63% last year. On the state civics test, 72% of Seminole’s students passed, up from 71% a year ago.

The FAST exams are “progress-monitoring tests,” meaning students take them three times a year. The first two test sessions aim to show what students know and what they still need to learn. The third test is high-stakes, with the scores factoring into retention and graduation decisions as Florida’s standardized tests have for years.

“The substantial gains achieved by Florida’s students on all statewide assessments demonstrate that progress monitoring is working,” Diaz said in a statement.

Florida’s end-of-course exams in biology, civics and U.S. history and its statewide science exams for students in grades 5 and 8 are not progress-monitoring tests, but students this year also made gains on them compared to classmates a year ago.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.