The primary purpose of the student assessment program is to provide student academic achievement and learning gains data to students, parents, teachers, school administrators, and school district staff. The state's assessment program is used to improve and sustain student performance, focus on performance of student subgroups, and enhance student performance.
These data are to be used by districts to improve instruction; by students, parents, and teachers to guide learning objectives; by education researchers to assess national and international education comparison data; and by the public to assess the cost benefit of the expenditure of taxpayer dollars.
the State Board of Education is responsible for a state system of school improvement and education accountability that assesses student performance by school, identifies schools that are not meeting accountability standards, and institutes appropriate measures for enforcing improvement.
The statewide assessment program includes assessments of English Language Arts (ELA) in grades 3 through 10, mathematics in grades 3 through 8 and science in grades 5 and 8. The state also administers end-of-course (EOC) exams in Algebra 1, Geometry, Biology 1, Civics, and U.S. History.
Participation in the statewide assessment program is mandatory for all school districts and students attending public schools, including adult students seeking a standard diploma and students in the Department of Juvenile Justice education programs, except as otherwise provided by law.
Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, Florida's statewide, standardized assessments in reading, writing, and mathematics will be aligned with the Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.). The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST), which includes Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten Program (VPK) through grade 10 Reading and VPK through grade 8 Mathematics assessments, will be administered as a progress monitoring assessment, which students will participate in three times per year. B.E.S.T. assessments that are not part of the FAST progress monitoring program include grades 4 through 10 Writing and EOC assessments in Algebra 1 and Geometry.
The Florida Department of Education publishes assessment scores required to earn a standard high school diploma in Florida. The 2023 Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-39, Laws of Florida, establishing in state law the passing concordant and comparative scores for ELA assessment or Algebra I EOC assessment. These are the score requirements for students in the 2022-23 graduating class, including those using accelerated or career pathway graduation options, and adult students may use to meet their assessment graduation requirements if they have not yet earned the required passing score on the Grade 10 ELA assessment or the Algebra I EOC assessment. These scores are also available for use by any student who entered grade 9 during the 2019-20 school year.
Beginning with 2022-23 program year, each private prekindergarten provider and public school participating in the Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program must participate in the Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS) and progress monitoring program. The coordinated screening and progress monitoring program results will be used by the department to identify student learning gains, index development learning outcomes upon program completion relative to performance standards established in statute and representative norms, and inform a private kindergarten provider's and public school's performance metrics.
In addition, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) periodically conducts student assessments in mathematics, reading, science, writing, the arts, civics, economics, geography, U.S. history, and technology and engineering literacy. Each subject is assessed at grades 4, 8, and 12, although not all grades area assessed each time. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and overseen by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). In the state of Florida, NAEP is mandated by s. 1008.22(2), Florida Statutes.
School grades provide an easily understandable way to measure the performance of a school and how well each school is serving its students. Schools are graded A, B, C, D, or F. The State Board of Education designates by rule a passing score, indicating grade-level performance for statewide, standardized assessment.
A school's grade may include up to eleven components. There are four achievement components, four learning gains components, a middle school acceleration component, as well as components for graduation rate and college and career acceleration. Each component is worth up to 100 points in the overall calculation.
The four achievement components are English Language Arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies. These components include student performance on statewide standardized assessments, including the comprehensive assessments, and end-of-course assessments. The component measures the percentage of full year enrolled students who achieved a learning gain from the prior year to the current year.
Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, students who earned an Armed Services Qualification Test score that falls within Category II or higher on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and earned a minimum of two credits in Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (JROTC)courses from the same branch of the United States Armed Forces.
School grades accountability reports and interactive report cards provide detailed performance information for 2021-22.
The State Board of Education is charged with enforcing the state's school accountability requirements, including holding school districts accountable for the academic performance of all schools and students, pursuant to s. 1008.33, Florida Statutes. The Department of Education annually identifies public schools that earned a grade D or F and are in need of intervention and support to improve academic performance. These schools must initiate improvement activities, which are delineated in a differentiated matrix adopted by state board rule. The state board may also prescribe reporting requirements to review and monitor the progress of the schools.
Schools earning a grade of F or two consecutive grades of D must submit a district-managed turnaround plan for approval by the state board. If a school continues to perform poorly, earning three consecutive grades below a C, the district is required to implement one of the following turnaround options:
The Florida School Recognition Program recognizes the high quality of many of Florida's public schools. As authorized in s. 1008.36, Florida Statutes, the program provides greater autonomy and financial awards to schools that demonstrate sustained or significantly improved student performance. Schools that receive a grade of "A," rating of "Commendable," schools that improve at least one performance grade or rating category, or schools that improve more than one letter grade and sustain the improvement the following year are eligible for school recognition. Funds for the Florida School Recognition Program are awarded by the Commissioner of Education in the amount of up to $100 per Full time Equivalent student for each qualifying school.
The staff and school advisory council at each recognized school jointly decide how to use the financial award. As specified in statute, schools must use their awards for one or any combination of the following:
Historical district and school award information as well as frequently asked questions can be found on the Florida School Recognition Program page.
Flexible Assessment Administration for Children of Military Families. Chapter 2023-73, Laws of Florida, provides flexibility in the administration of specified assessments for Florida Virtual School (FVS) full-time students of military families residing outside of Florida. Through these exams, students demonstrate the grade-level mastery of skills that have been acquired and measured by the statewide, standardized comprehensive assessment under s. 1008.22(3)(a), Florida Statutes, the statewide standardized end of course assessment under s. 1008.22(3)(b), Florida Statutes, or an alternate assessment under s. 1008.22(3)(d), Florida Statutes. The flexibility in assessment administration must allow a FVS full-time student from a military family currently stationed outside of Florida to participate in statewide, standardized assessments administered by a licensed certified instructor or education service officer test administrator at the current military duty station.
Additionally, the student's parent or guardian may submit to the FVS a written request for flexibility in assessment at any time during the school year, but not later than 90 days before the current school year's assessment administration for which the request is made. A request must include written, official documentation of the family's current out-of-state military duty stationing.
Based on this documentation, the FVS submits a recommendation to the Florida Department of Education as to whether the request for flexibility in assessment administration should be granted or denied. After the receipt of the department's determination, the FVS notifies the parent or guardian whether the request has been granted or denied.
The Legislature may request from the FVS a report containing the number of requests for flexibility in assessment administration, the number of requests granted, and data regarding student performance on statewide, standardized assessments. Additionally, the State Board of Education must adopt rules to implement this law.
Assessment, Acceleration, and Accountability Modifications. In 2023, the Florida Legislature enacted Ch. 2023-39, Laws of Florida, which modifies assessment, acceleration, and accountability provisions as follows.
Websites of Interest
Florida
National
Performance Measures
Accountability & Reporting, 850-245-0437
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