Student writing skills progress
The School District of Lee County received its FCAT writing scores this week and, overall, the news was good.
The percentage of students whose writing skills meet or exceed expectations for their respective grade level saw good increases at the elementary and middle school levels this year.
The number of fourth graders achieving this goal on the essay portion of the test increased 7 percentage points – from 76 to 83 percent – over last year’s results and the number of eighth-graders hitting this goal increased by 3 points, from 87 percent to 90 percent.
Some schools in the Cape exceeded those numbers and the state grade-level-or-above rate – where 85 percent of the fourth graders and 90 percent of the eighth graders met or exceeded standards.
At the elementary school level in Cape Coral, the percentage of students at Trafalgar and Hector A. Cafferata meeting or exceeding writing skills goals was 96 percent. At Diplomat, 94 percent of the students met or exceeded goals with the numbers at North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts and Gulf Elementary hitting 92 and 91 percent respectively and Christa McAuliffe marking 90 percent.
At the middle school level, an astounding 100 percent of the eighth graders met or exceeded writing objectives at Gulf Middle School with Oasis Middle hitting 98 percent and Trafalgar and Diplomat Middle coming in with 97 percent. The percentage at Caloosa Middle was 95 while Cape Coral Charter and North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts hit 93 percent and Challenger Middle came in with 91 percent of eighth graders hitting or exceeding goals.
The news at the 10th grade level was not as good with the percentage of 10th grade students meeting or exceeding goals dropping 1 point, from 76 to 75 percent, coming in under the state average of 77 percent.
School Superintendent James Browder said while the news was mostly good, student achievement remains a work in progress. We agree. But progress is to be noted when it is made.
Congratulations to the students and to their schools. We look forward with anticipation to the rest of the FCAT results.
– Breeze editorial