Marion County schools ranked among the state’s worst-performing for test scores and improvements during this year’s Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) test series.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Education released results from this year’s FAST tests, which were administered three times this past year to students between kindergarten and 10th grade.
The tests measure a student’s performance in various academic categories over the course of the school year.
Tests are administered a score (1 to 5) that indicates whether or not the student performed below, at, or above grade level.
The statewide results from the FDE show the percentage of students that achieve a level of 3 or higher on each test, in each district.
According to the newly released data, Marion County student passing test scores in English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and Science all ranked at or near the bottom of the state.
In ELA, the state reported that students between 3rd and 10th grade across Florida improved their test scores approximately 20% from the first assessment (33%) to the third (53%).
In Marion County, however, 3rd to 10th grade students scored an average of 26% during the first assessment and 46% on their third assessment. That ranks the county behind 60 or so other school districts in the state of Florida, and just ahead of around 15 others.
In mathematics, the state reported that between 2023 and 2024, student scores in mathematics improved from 51% to 55%.
Marion County fell well below the state average, reporting a 44% passing rate in 2023 and a 46% passing rate in 2024. That ranks the county towards the bottom of Florida’s 75+ school districts.
In science, Marion County didn’t fare much better, ranking behind at least 55 other districts in improvements from 2023 to 2024 across multiple categories: 5th Grade Science, 8th Grade Science, and Biology 1.
In social studies, Marion student scores ranked towards the bottom for civics and towards the middle of the pack for United State history.
The FAST test series replaced the Florida Student Assessment (FSA) series in 2016. Both series are successors to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). The FCAT was originally created by the Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability in 1995 as a way to enable districts to measure the performance of their schools.
To access the complete list of this year’s test results, visit the Florida Department of Education Florida Assessment of Student Thinking and B.E.S.T. Assessments webpage.
Join the conversation on Ocala-News.com