MILTON — Santa Rosa students are proving to be some of the highest academic performers in the state based on Florida Standards Assessments results.
Local students ranked third in English language arts, fourth in mathematics, sixth in science, third in civics, and seventh in U.S. history.
Rankings reflect the 67 county school districts plus the deaf and blind schools, Florida Virtual school, Florida Atlantic University lab school, Florida State University lab school, Florida A&M University lab school, and University of Florida lab school.
The three-year-old FSA test results show the percentage of students broken down by grade levels who meet the standard of what the state considers proficient, according to Santa Rosa County School District Assistant Superintendent Bill Emerson.
The state testing covers third through 10th grades.
“The state's testing only covers grades 3-10 in ELA and 3-8 in math,” Emerson said. “There are (end-of-course tests) for high school courses which are not limited to one grade level. The state graduation requirement is for students to pass the grade 10 ELA test and the Algebra 1 test.”
The test is too new to track trends.
“The FSA test is only three years old,” Emerson said. “The first year, the data was not reported the same as for ‘16 and ‘17. That is why I don’t have additional years on the charts.”
Emerson evenly distributed the credit for the high student achievement.
“Santa Rosa County has a wonderful blend of great families, skilled and dedicated teachers, and committed administrators,” he said. “That combination helps keep our achievement scores high.”
While local students performed well, there is always room for improvement.
“We would always like to be number one in the state on every test, but we focus on improvement from year to year,” Emerson said.
“We will analyze the data and come up with a focus for improving scores for next year, but it will take time.”
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Local students' test scores in top 10