Florida schools took a hit on assessments during COVID — but Manatee had bright spots
Manatee Schools Superintendent Cynthia Saunders says she is “pleasantly surprised” by this year’s state assessment results.
Schools throughout Florida took a hit on the 2021 Florida Standards Assessments, which continued in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. And though Manatee County schools were no exception, local scores exceeded the state average in several areas, especially when it came to mathematics, according to data released by the state on Thursday.
Manatee County students — who faced 12-plus months of uncertainty and, in some cases, a switch to full-time online classes — also managed to avoid losses in at least two categories.
“What it showed me is our teachers, our staff, our parents, our students were resilient and did an absolutely amazing job defying the odds,” Saunders said. “We went into a year where there was no playbook. There was no formal, exact training on how to handle a school year during a pandemic.”
State data compared the latest scores to FSA results from 2019, since the Florida Department of Education canceled assessments in 2020, shortly after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
In Manatee County, the FSA scores had their bright spots, along with areas that showed a need for extra support in the upcoming school year, which begins for teachers on Aug. 3, and for students one week later.
“We know that some are going to need to make more than a year’s worth of growth just to be on par,” Saunders said on Thursday afternoon.
“Those are things we’ve been working on all summer,” she continued. “I just left one of our Title I elementary schools — Manatee Elementary — after a whole strategic planning session focused on making sure students are getting the mental health and academic support they need.”
English Language Arts for Grades 3 through 10
Manatee dropped 2 percentage points, from 52% to 50% of students achieving a Level 3 (satisfactory score) or above on this year’s ELA assessment.
Surrounding districts took a similar hit:
Florida dropped 3 percentage points, from 55% to 52%.
Sarasota dropped 3 percentage points, from 66% to 63%.
Hillsborough dropped 4 percentage points, from 54% to 50%.
Polk dropped 4 percentage points, from 47% to 43%.
Hardee dropped 2 percentage points, from 48% to 46%.
DeSoto dropped 3 percentage points, from 34% to 31%.
Mathematics for grades 3 through 8
The overall mathematics score includes results from the FSA mathematics test and the end-of-course assessments for algebra and geometry.
Manatee dropped 3 percentage points in mathematics, from 61% to 58% of students achieving a satisfactory score or better, putting local schools ahead of the statewide average, which took a big hit during the pandemic.
Statewide, the mathematics score dropped 10 percentage points, from 61% to 51%.
“Our math data, especially elementary through middle, was unbelievable,” Saunders said. “The students just really outperformed the state. It says a lot to the systems and the staff development and the processes that we put in place over the last few years.”
Surrounding districts:
Sarasota dropped 8 percentage points, from 73% to 65%.
Hillsborough dropped 7 percentage points, from 56% to 49%.
Polk dropped 8 percentage points, from 51% to 43%.
Hardee dropped 11 percentage points, from 62% to 51%.
DeSoto dropped 8 percentage points, from 40% to 32%.
Statewide Science Assessment for Grade 5
Fifth-graders in Manatee County held steady on the statewide science assessment, remaining at 48% between 2019 and 2021.
Meanwhile, Florida lost 6 percentage points, dropping from 53% to 47% of students achieving a Level 3 score or above.
Surrounding school districts took a similar hit:
Sarasota dropped 5 percentage points, from 65% to 60%.
Hillsborough dropped 7 percentage points, from 51% to 44%.
Polk dropped 6 percentage points, from 45% to 39%.
Hardee dropped 3 percentage points, from 42% to 39%.
DeSoto dropped 6 percentage points, from 36% to 30%.
Grade 8 Science
Manatee schools also held their ground on the eighth-grade science scores, which include the statewide science assessment and the Biology 1 end-of-course assessment.
Manatee remained at 45% of students achieving a satisfactory score or better, while the state dropped 3 percentage points, from 51% to 48%.
All but one surrounding district took a hit:
Sarasota dropped 3 percentage points, from 62% to 59%.
Hillsborough dropped 5 percentage points, from 48% to 43%.
Polk dropped 2 percentage points, from 41% to 39%.
Hardee increased 2 percentage points, from 36% to 38%.
DeSoto dropped 4 percentage points, from 29% to 25%.
Biology 1 End-of-Course Assessment, Grades 6 through 12
Manatee dropped by 6 percentage points, from 68% to 62%, putting local schools in line with the state’s average score for this assessment.
The state dropped 5 percentage points, from 67% to 62% of students achieving a satisfactory score or better.
Surrounding districts:
Sarasota dropped 4 percentage points, from 76% to 72%.
Hillsborough dropped 6 percentage points, from 66% to 60%.
Polk dropped 2 percentage points, from 54% to 52%.
Hardee dropped 10 percentage points, from 67% to 57%.
DeSoto dropped 4 percentage points, from 49% to 45%.
Civics End-of-Course Assessment for Grades 5 through 12
Manatee dropped 7 percentage points, from 77% to 70% of students achieving a satisfactory score or better, outpacing the statewide score for this assessment.
The state also dropped 7 percentage points, from 71% to 64%.
Surrounding districts:
Sarasota dropped 4 percentage points, from 85% to 81%.
Hillsborough dropped 6 percentage points, from 67% to 61%.
Polk dropped 7 percentage points, from 70% to 63%.
Hardee dropped 4 percentage points, from 60% to 56%.
DeSoto dropped 3 percentage points, from 43% to 40%.
U.S. History End-of-Course Assessment, Grades 7 through 12
Manatee — previously ahead of Florida in this category — dropped 8 percentage points, from 70% to 62%.
The state dropped 6 percentage points, from 69% to 63% of students achieving a Level 3 or better.
Surrounding districts:
Sarasota dropped 4 percentage points, from 77% to 73%.
Hillsborough dropped 6 percentage points, from 73% to 67%.
Polk dropped 1 percentage point, from 57% to 56%.
Hardee increased 4 percentage points, from 50% to 54%.
DeSoto dropped 10 percentage points, from 58% to 48%.
To see all of this year’s FSA results, including a breakdown of scores by individual grade level and school, visit fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/results and click on “2021.”
“I’m very proud of what our teachers and students have done during this last year and half,” said Pat Barber, president of the local teachers union. “The conditions they’ve been working and learning under have been challenging at the very least.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 1:57 PM.