Okaloosa grade three language arts test scores down

NICEVILLE, Fla. – Results of the 2022 Grade 3 Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) English Language Arts (ELA) exam show a slight decline in proficiency among third-graders in the Okaloosa County School District (OCSD), according to an announcement by the OCSD.

Okaloosa County ranked 12th out of 67 districts on the Grade 3 FSA ELA with 58% of students scoring Level 3 (satisfactory) or higher, down from 63% last year.

Okaloosa 3rd graders ranked 8th in 2021.

According to the OCSD, eight of the districts that rank ahead of Okaloosa also saw declines in proficiency among 3rd graders.

This is the last year that students will take the Florida Standards Assessment test. New legislation authorizes the replacement of the year-end FSA with the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST), a progress monitoring approach.

“It was a challenging year in Okaloosa County, and the same can be said of districts throughout Florida,” said Superintendent Marcus Chambers.

“I have tremendous respect and appreciation for our school administrators, teachers, and educational support professionals who worked tirelessly with our students in a difficult year to help them achieve the results they did.”

The OCSD said principals and staff have begun the necessary work to emphasize areas of strength and to continue to reinforce where learning loss has created gaps for students. Plans include:

• Expanded summer school to include any student in need, not only those facing possible retention
• Increased opportunities for one-on-one tutoring for students during and after the school day in the fall
• Targeted use of student data to prescribe individualized learning opportunities
• Additional ELA and Math Coaches to support teacher development to better impact student learning
• Additional mental health support for students

Parents can contact their child’s school for more information about learning opportunities this summer and beyond.

A more complete academic picture for 2021-2022 will come into focus when the remaining state assessment results for grades 4-10 are released in the coming weeks, the OCSD said.

For more information on the FSA, please visit:

• https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/result /2022.stml#FSA
• https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/5663/urlt/Grade-LevelFS2022.pdf