Polk FCAT Retake Scores Rise Slightly

LAKELAND | More Polk County seniors who retook the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test this year in reading and math will be able to graduate, but the numbers remain low.

This year, 915 12th-graders retook the test and 15 percent passed in the reading portion. Last year, 1,033 12th-graders took one last shot at the reading portion of the FCAT, and 14 percent passed.

Numbers were higher in the math portion.

Last year in math, 456 seniors retook the test and 22 percent passed. This year, 396 seniors retook the math test and 31 percent passed.

Passing the FCAT makes seniors eligible to receive regular diplomas. High school students get six chances to take the test before graduation.

Polk was slightly behind the state this year.

Statewide, 16 percent of the 24,069 seniors retaking the reading test passed. That's up from 15 percent last year.

Thirty-two percent of 9,971 seniors retaking the math test passed, an increase from 26 percent last year.

If students still haven't passed the test by their senior year, but have met all other graduation requirements, they'll receive a certificate of completion.

They can trade it for a diploma if they pass later and meet other requirements - at least 24 credit hours and a grade point average of at least 2.0.

To graduate, students must pass both parts of the 10th grade FCAT or achieve certain levels on SAT or ACT college entrance tests.

If they fail the FCAT exams, they can retake them in the 11th and 12th grades.

If they still cannot pass one or both, they can stay an extra year and try again. They also can retake the tests as an adult as many times as they want.

Numbers in area counties were similar to Polk. Here's a breakdown of seniors in other counties provided by the St. Petersburg Times:

Pinellas: 19 percent passed reading and 33 percent passed math.

Hillsborough: 15 percent passed reading and 33 percent passed math.

Pasco: 19 percent passed reading and 43 percent passed math, up 9 percentage points from last year.

Hernando: 21 percent passed reading and 35 percent passed math.

[ John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7588. Material from The Associated Press was used in this article. ]