Manatee schools see modest improvements in test scores for 2016-17

Manatee County schools had a slight increase in the number of students who passed their standardized reading tests in 2016-17, but the district still lags behind the state average and its neighboring districts.

On Thursday, the state Department of Education released the test results for the 2016-17 school year state assessments.

Fifty percent of Manatee’s students are reading at grade level, an increase from 48 percent in 2015-16. Fifty-six percent of Manatee’s students passed the state math test, compared to 55 percent last year.

“In many cases we are very pleased and see improvement and growth,” said deputy superintendent for instruction Cynthia Saunders. “And we certainly still have some areas we’ve got to continue working on.”

Manatee has not caught up with the state average of a 54 percent passing rate in reading and 59 percent in math.

In 2016, 10 Manatee County elementary schools were among the 300 lowest-scoring schools in the state, so each of those “L300” schools received an extra hour of reading instruction each day.

In some cases, scores at those schools increased, like at Tillman Elementary where the third grade reading pass rate increased by 13 percent, and at Palmetto Elementary, where the fifth grade reading pass rate increased by 11 percent. But at other schools the extra time did not yield higher pass rates. The pass rate on the reading test for fifth-graders at Oneco went down by 8 percent.

Saunders said each of those schools would continue to receive the extra hour of support, even if they are not among the 300 lowest-scoring schools this year. She said any additional schools that fall within the L300 list would receive extra instruction as well.

The most dramatic score increase among L300 schools was the performance by the students at Visible Men, a charter school at 1003 63rd Ave. E. The fourth-grade math scores increased from a 13 percent pass rate in 2016 to a 73 percent pass rate in 2017. School administrators were not available for comment to explain the 60 percent increase Thursday afternoon.

Saunders said the numbers only tell part of the story, and district staff is breaking down the figures even further to determine how well students did with individual teachers.

Statewide, scores increased incrementally and the gap between white students and black students narrowed.

The scores came out the same day as Florida’s lawmakers were reconvened in a special session largely focused on school funding. Gov. Rick Scott said the bump in scores was proof the state needed to provide more funding to education.

“The accomplishments of our students are proof that we cannot take our foot off the gas and must continue to provide record funding for Florida’s education system,” said Scott.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 1:52 PM with the headline "Manatee schools see modest improvements in test scores for 2016-17."