Fifth-Grade Reading Scores to be Investigated

LAKELAND | When local school officials saw the statewide results of the fifth-grade FCAT reading test, one of the first things they thought about were the 2006 third-grade reading scores.

In 2006, the number of third-graders reading at or above grade level jumped significantly in Polk County and statewide - to 71 percent in Polk. However, when the 2007 numbers dropped, state officials acknowledged flaws in the 2006 test.

This year, fifth-grade scores are the anomaly.

"Principals are scratching their heads and poring over data trying to figure out problems," said Polk Superintendent Gail McKinzie.

As most FCAT numbers increased in Polk and across the state this year, fifth-grade reading scores slipped by five points from 300 to 295 in Polk and 310 to 305 statewide.

In math, the numbers in Polk remained the same at 324. Statewide, the math number increased by one from 332 to 333.

Despite assurances by the state that this year's reading score is nothing more than a blip, district officials said they will investigate further.

"It bears some further scrutiny," said Sherrie Nickell, Polk's associate superintendent of learning. "Everything else seems to be trending upward."

Wilma Ferrer, the district's senior director of assessment, accountability and evaluation, said she plans to look at lower-performing elementary schools to determine if there was a problem. "Right off the bat, it (the number) seems a bit too much," Ferrer said.

To make things more interesting, many of the fifth-graders whose scores fell this year are the same third-graders who scored so well in 2006.

"About 80 percent were here in third grade when that anomaly occurred," Nickell said.

In 2006, third-graders reading at or above grade level had jumped 8 percentage points to 75 percent in 2006 in the state. Education officials initially attributed the dramatic increase to better performance and said it proved then-Gov. Jeb Bush's education policies were working.

Only when third-grade reading scores dropped 6 percentage points last year did officials acknowledge there had been a problem with the 2006 test.

They blamed the placement of some questions carried over from the prior year to maintain continuity. The "anchor" questions had been put too close to the front of the test, where research shows students do better.

[ John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7588. The Associated Press contributed to this article ].