Florida's panhandle students mark higher performance on state assessments

MILTON — Florida Panhandle students are improving their performance on state assessments in mathematics, language arts, science, civics and U.S. history, according to Commissioner of Education Pam Stewart.

Statewide, the percentage of students achieving on mathematics combined — for the Florida Standards Assessment and end-of-course assessments — increased overall by 1 percentage point, with 58 percent of third- through fifth-graders and 56 percent of sixth- through eighth-graders scoring Level 3 or higher.

Results were up 5 percentage points for students younger than high school age taking Algebra, with 88 percent scoring Level 3 or higher in 2016.

In addition, the percentage of students scoring Level 3 or higher on the Algebra 2 end-of-course assessment increased by 4 percentage points while English Language Arts remained steady.

Student results were up 1 percentage point in eighth-grade science combined, based on the Statewide Science Assessment and Biology 1.

In Santa Rosa County, students:

●Improved 3 percentage points in Algebra 2

●Increased 1 percentage point for students younger than high school age in Algebra 1, with 96 percent scoring Level 3 or higher

●Moved up 1 percentage point in Biology 1 and U.S. History

In Okaloosa County, students:

●Improved 6 percentage points in Algebra 2

●Moved up 6 percentage points in Geometry

●Increased 3 percentage points in third- through fifth-grade Mathematics combined — Florida Standards Assessment and end-of-course assessments — and eighth-grade science combined, based on the Florida Standards Assessment and Biology 1 End-of-Course assessment

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Florida's panhandle students mark higher performance on state assessments