UF lab school shines in state FCAT scores

7/06/05

Students
at P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School, the UF College of
Education’s K-12 laboratory school, continue to make a strong showing
on the yearly Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

In FCAT scores released by the Florida Dept. of Education for the
2004-05 school year, PKY students surpassed the average passing rate
among Florida schools by a wide margin, in all sections of the exam.
PKY also was one of the top-performing schools in Alachua County at
most grade levels: PKY registered the area’s highest passing rate on
the FCAT writing exam in grades 8 and 10, and matched the county’s
top-scoring public school (Talbot Elementary) in the percentage of
third-grade students passing the reading section.

P.K. Yonge School’s stellar FCAT performance comes despite tougher
grading standards and the first-time inclusion of learning-disabled
students in factoring a school’s overall performance.

For the benefit of readers who aren’t Florida teachers or parents of
Florida schoolchildren, the FCAT is a battery of exams in reading,
math, writing and science given to students in grades 3 to 11. Students
took the exams in February and March.

FCAT scores are the primary measure of achievement used to calculate
a school’s state-assigned grade in Florida. The percentage of students
who make learning gains from grade to grade also factors in. The
standard for a passing FCAT grade, though, was raised this year for the
writing section, and the new school-grade calculations also factor in
the grades of students with learning disabilities or limited ability in
speaking English.

While the grading bar has been raised, PKY’s high FCAT scores helped
the UF laboratory school maintain its overall “A” grade for the third
consecutive year.

“Our schoolwide focus on the Florida Reading Initiative has played a
major role in our continued success. P.K. Yonge, in partnership with
the North East Florida Educational Consortium, provides the leadership
for this statewide reading program,” said Fran Vandiver, director of
the lab school.

More than 60 schools in 17 school districts participate in the
Florida Reading Initiative, a research-based, schoolwide reform effort
striving for 100 percent literacy among its students. The program
emphasizes extensive professional development for school teachers and
principals and includes a two-week Summer Reading Academy. To
participate, 85 percent of a school’s faculty, including the principal,
must commit to attending the academy.

“Many of our teachers are presenters in the Summer Reading Academy,
sharing their knowledge about teaching reading to teachers from across
the state,” Vandiver said. “Our focus on good teaching and an authentic
curriculum, rather than on test-taking, is an important factor in our
success (on the FCAT scores).”

Here are some highlights of P.K. Yonge’s 2004-05 FCAT score results
at key grade levels that determine student promotion or a school’s
overall grade:

FCAT READING: THIRD GRADE

For the second straight year, 93 percent of PKY third-graders passed
the reading section of this year’s FCAT. To pass, students had to score
3.5 or higher out of a possible 5 points. The state uses the
third-grade FCAT to determine promotion to the fourth grade.

Vandiver attributed the high reading scores to the efforts of
teachers Ashley Pennypacker-Vogt, Christie Lee and Anna Sperring, along
with their support team.

“The performance of our third-graders is remarkable since two of the
three teachers are new to our school, and one of them is a beginning
teacher. That speaks volumes for the system of learning we are creating
when they can come in, receive the support needed for success, work
hard and then be successful at such a high level,” Vandiver said. “Our
reading team plans to share the knowledge they have gained in learning
the appropriate interventions and assessments needed in K-2 by their
involvement in the Florida Reading Initiative and by sponsoring our own
programs and conferences. This is an important mission of ours as the
University of Florida lab school.”

READING EXAM

GRADE 3	% PASSING
State Average	68%
PK YONGE	91%

 

FCAT MATH: THIRD GRADE

Among PKY third-graders, 81 percent received passing grades on the
FCAT math section. The district average was 69 percent. PKY logged the
sixth highest passing rate among Alachua County’s 33 public, private
and charter elementary schools that received a grade.

MATH EXAM

GRADE 3	% PASSING
State Average	67%
PK YONGE	81%

FCAT WRITING: EIGHTH AND 10TH GRADES

P.K. Yonge eighth- and 10th graders achieved the highest passing
percentage in the county among their peers, with passing rates of 91
percent and 95 percent, respectively. The state average for both of
those grades was 76 percent passing. Eighty percent of PKY
fourth-graders passed, also topping the state average of 74 percent at
that level.

The students took their essay exams last February. The essays are
graded from a 1 to 6, with a score of 3.5 or greater considered
passing. The 45-minute writing exam does not carry a penalty for
students who fail, but how a school performs is used to help decide a
school’s grade, from “A” to “F.”

WRITING EXAM

GRADE 4	% PASSING
State Average	74%
PK YONGE	80%

GRADE 8	% PASSING
State Average	76%
PK YONGE	91%

GRADE 10	% PASSING
State Average	76%
PK YONGE	91%

SOURCE: Florida Dept. of Education