According to data released by the state Department of Education Wednesday, Flagler County students in all grades saw year-over-year improvements in their scores in math and English, sometimes significantly so, as well as in all other subjects covered by standardized tests, mirroring similar gains statewide. The findings, which represent the first testing cycle under Superintendent LaShakia Moore’s supervision since her appointment in September 2023, are advantageous to her administration.
Since the tenure of Superintendent Bill Delbrugge over 10 years ago, Flagler schools have rarely been able to draw solace from year-end test results with as few or no qualifiers as they will this time.
In an interview this afternoon, a positive Moore stated, “I truly am proud of the work that we’re doing.”I’m really happy of the hard work that each of our schools and students are doing, but I’m even more proud of the fact that every student grouping is progressing. It’s the first in a long time. What was the difference?Return to academics with a strategic focus. Moore stated, “That’s really it, for all schools, for all students,” referring to external distractions that had previously hindered that focus.We promised ourselves that we would do just that this year.
While not remarkable, such as St. Johns County, which continues to be the gold standard for student accomplishment in practically every grade and category, Flagler’s fourth through tenth graders’ writing scores are somewhat higher than the state average in every grade.
In addition, students across all grade levels outperformed 2024 in the statewide science test and the Biology End of Course exam, outperforming the state average by a narrow margin, and improving their civics and U.S. history scores by four points (70 percent at proficiency or better in history compared to 66 percent a year ago).
The improvements could ultimately push the Flagler County school district back into A-rated zone, though those calculations are not anticipated until later this summer and take into account a lot more than just school assessments. The district needs to demonstrate increases in the graduation rate, the performance of children in the lowest quartile, and strong results in accelerated courses like Cambridge AICE, Advanced Placement, and the International Baccalaureate. However, there have been advancements in such areas.
Moore stated, “We’re crossing our fingers that this will be it and that it will be it for years to come.”
Nevertheless, the rise in scores across almost all subjects raises the possibility that Moore is the first superintendent since Jim Tager to restore the district’s A grade after it languished in B territory for the previous three years and for ten of the previous eleven. Last year, before Moore had been superintendent for a full year, the district narrowly missed an A. Given that her office’s enormous logo proclaims, THERE IS NO FINISH LINE, the suprintendent is unlikely to be happy with the outcome.
The outcomes of the Algebra 1 End of Course assessments were somewhat inconsistent, but generally pretty good. Of the 105 pupils who took the test in the autumn, only 38 percent were able to receive a competency grade or higher. However, 60 percent of the 1,219 kids who took the test in the spring did (albeit the average was raised by the impressive results of the 7th and 8th grades; the 103 10th graders alone had a frightening 24 percent).
The same is true for geometry. 65 percent of the more than 1,000 students who took the EOC in the spring—including 98 percent of eighth graders—were at proficiency or higher (compared to only 32 percent of eleventh and 25 percent of twelfth graders). Winter test takers were too few to have a statistically significant effect. Of the 28 pupils who took the fall test, just 21 percent were able to achieve proficiency or higher.
A closer look at English test results shows that third graders in Flagler County have made significant, often remarkable, progress. Overall, third graders in all of the district’s schools scored at or above proficiency at a rate of 64 percent, up from 61 percent the previous year.
Bunnelll Elementary is at 59 percent, and Old Kings Elementary is at 73 percent, down from 78 percent the previous year. Even while Bunnell’s score is lower than last year’s, when only 48% of third-grade kids achieved competence or higher, it is still a significant gain. Last year, Rymfire Elementary was at 54%. Now, it stands at 60%. Last year, Wadsworth Elementary was only at 50%. This year, it was at 69 percent. Belle Terre Elementary increased to 65 by one point.
Just 57% of the third graders at the publicly financed but privately operated Imagine School at Town Center were proficient or above, a three-point drop from the previous year.
At Flagler Palm Coast High School, 10th graders made significant progress, rising from just 50% competency last year to 57% this year. The 10th graders at Matanzas High School also improved, rising from 59 to 62.
When the same analysis was done for math, Flagler County’s third graders demonstrated even greater gains, with 70% of them at proficiency or better, up from 60% the previous year. Rymfire was at the bottom end, with a still impressive 66 percent of its students at proficiency or better, a 6-point increase from the previous year. Bunnell Elementary saw a remarkable 27-point improvement, going from 46 percent at proficient or better to 73 percent. Belle Terre improved by 13 points, from 61 to 74. Wadsworth increased to 71 from 67. All of those notable gains will contribute to the district’s ascent into A territory, barring further unfavorable outcomes elsewhere.
Imagine was the lowest-performing school in both math and English, but its third graders significantly outperformed last year, when the prior class was at 45 percent, with 59 percent at competence or greater.
The eighth grade is the highest possible result on the FAST math test. Three points higher than the state average and three points higher than the previous year, 60% of Flagler County’s eighth graders were at proficiency or above. Eighth graders at Indian Trails improved from 56 to 61 percent at proficiency or greater, while those at Buddy Taylor Middle School went from 57 percent to 63 percent.
Imagine School saw a startling decline, dropping from 70% last year to 20% this year. The district is quite concerned about that. Imagine’s scores are all taken into account when determining the district’s final score, which is an A. There would be little doubt as to why the district would not receive that A again this year; imagine that a significant drop could have been a decisive factor.
It would take a year-long course to try to understand the state’s maze of acronyms, testing schedules, scoring schemes, and grade-level breakdowns; if there were an end-of-year assessment, most adults would fail it because it is so ridiculously complex and changes nearly annually.
The state publishes a 25-page manual. It can be as unbreakable as Hegel, though. For example, tests are scored on a scale of 1 to 5, where a score of 3 indicates proficiency. However, the state also offers comparative tables that display district scores together with the proportion of pupils who had a score of six or higher and the proportion who received a score of seven or higher. This is due to the fact that 6 is the mean score.
To avoid being admitted to FCLE, what is the difference between an EOC and a FAST test, what does FAST have to do with BEST, and what are all these PM numbers about? As if that weren’t enough, there is a full color-coded system that distinguishes between different student scores and subsets of data.
Here is a summary of the fundamentals.
Through three assessments annually, the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) tracks students’ development in reading and English from grades 3 through 10 and math from grades 3 through 8. The so-called BEST criteria serve as the foundation for the tests. Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking is what the acronym stands for.
Three progress monitoring windows, known as PM1, PM2, and PM3, are used to break down the three annual exams. Since students are not expected to be proficient in the first two periods, test scores organically increase over the course of the year.
Students in grades 4–10 take writing assessments that are based on the BEST criteria. The test is only taken by students in the spring. Their English scores are unaffected by the outcomes.
In order to evaluate middle- and high-school courses in math (Algebra 1, Geometry), science (Biology 1), and social studies (Civics and U.S. History), conclusion-of-Course (EOC) assessments are given once at the conclusion of the year.
Additionally, there is the Florida Civic Literacy Exam (FCLE), which students take upon completion of a course on U.S. Government, and the Statewide Science Assessment, which is administered once in the spring to students in grades 5 and 8.
