Florida students post ‘significant declines’ on national reading test

Florida, a “shinning star” on the national test scene two years ago, saw “significant declines” in reading scores posted by its fourth and eighth graders this year, results released this morning showed.

The Sunshine State mirrored the nation, which also saw average reading scores fall on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP.

Florida also showed two worrisome trends seen nationally this year, officials said: Its 2019 scores represented little progress from a decade ago, and its lowest-performing students posted some of the biggest declines in reading.

“Our students who are struggling with reading are where they were nearly 30 years ago,” said Peggy Carr, an associate commissioner with the National Center for Education Statistics, during a telephone call with reporters.

Though struggling students most need to make gains, they’ve showed “no growth,” she said.

Florida’s math scores held steady compared with 2017 while the nation’s made minor shifts.

But that means the state’s eighth graders remained below the national average, with 31% scoring “proficient,” or better, compared with 33% nationally.

The state’s reading score drops — the average scores fell by four points for fourth graders and three points for eighth graders — were deemed “significant” and “fairly substantial” by national test officials.

The percentage of Florida fourth graders scoring “proficient,” or able to master challenging content, fell from 41% in 2017 to 38% this year, while the percentage for eighth graders went from 35% to 34%.

Despite that, Florida’s reading test scores, and its fourth-grade math scores, remained above the national average, as did the percentage of students testing proficient or better. In Florida, the average fourth-grade reading score was six points higher than the nation’s, for example.

NAEP, often called “the nation’s report card,” is given to a representative sampling of students in each state, providing a way to compare performance across the country. The reading and math tests are given to fourth and eighth graders. This year, about 600,000 students took the computer-based exams.

For both reading and math, scores nationally and in Florida were mostly flat when 2009 results are compared with 2019’s.

Florida was viewed as a “shining star” in 2017, Carr noted, when most of its NAEP scores rose, bucking the national trend.

This year’s drops are “something to be concerned about,” she added.

But she also said the test data doesn’t explain why students in Florida, or many other states, tested this year did worse than fourth and eighth graders tested two years earlier.

“The assessment is designed to tell you what, not why,” Carr said.

Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, said the NAEP release likely would be upsetting to the nation’s “hardworking” educators.

“It’s frustrating and difficult to understand,” she said. “We hope the results will spur research.”

Florida’s lower 2019 scores could well play into the state’s ongoing effort to replace Common Core academic standards with a new set of math and reading benchmarks for public schools.

In 2017, then Florida education leaders credited Common Core standards for the improved scores. But this year’s results could undercut those arguments.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced soon after taking office in January that he wanted new standards to spell out what should be taught in those core classes, and the work to develop them is underway.

lpostal@orlandosentinel.com