JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Once again, Northeast Florida had the two best-performing school districts in the state on statewide exams designed to test skills in reading and math, based on data recently released by the state.
On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis touted that more than 60% of Florida students are now performing at or above grade level in both English language arts and mathematics, a first for the state.
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Student achievement is measured with the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (F.A.S.T.), which is administered to students in grades 3 through 10 for English language arts, and grades 3 through 8 for math. High school students are tested in math through separate end-of-course exams. The F.A.S.T. exams are administered in the fall, at the mid-year point, and again in the spring.
The F.A.S.T. scores are a key component of school and district grades, which were released on Wednesday.
In English language arts, St. Johns and Nassau counties led the state for the percentage of students performing at or above grade level across all grades, in the spring assessment.
St. Johns had 78% and Nassau had 74%.
Two other area counties performed above the statewide mark of 61%: Clay, with 65%, and Flagler, at 63%.
Other northeast Florida counties:
- Alachua: 59%
- Columbia: 58%
- Baker: 57%
- Union: 57%
- Bradford: 55%
- Duval: 54%
- Putnam: 49%
When it came to math, St. Johns and Nassau switched places, with Nassau coming in as the top district across grade levels, at 81%. St. Johns followed at 77%.
Three area counties performed at or above the statewide mark for math, which was 62%. Clay had 66% of students at or above grade level in math, Flagler was at 65%, and Baker was at 62%.
Other northeast Florida counties:
- Columbia: 62%
- Union: 60%
- Bradford: 57%
- Duval: 55%
- Alachua: 52%
- Putnam: 47%
In a news release issued Friday, Duval County Public Schools said the district showed gains over the previous year, as proficiency rates in a majority of the 21 tested areas either improved or were maintained as the district continues to outperform the state in Geometry and U.S. History while also narrowing the gap with the state in English Language Arts and math.
“I am encouraged by these results,” said Superintendent Dr. Christopher Bernier. “In this data, we see an upward trend toward greater learning outcomes and subject proficiency for our students. These early results reflect the hard work of our Team Duval students, teachers, administrators, families, and School Board. Once again, Duval Delivers.”
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