Memorandum

TO:                   School Board Members

School District of Palm Beach County

FROM:              Arthur C. Johnson, Ph.D.

Superintendent

DATE:               April 26, 2004

SUBJECT:         FY2004 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test Norm Referenced Test (NRT) Results for Grades 3 through 10, Reading and Mathematics:  All Curriculum Groups

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform you that the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) has released the Grades 3 through 10 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test NRT results for all curriculum groups. [1]   The FCAT Reports for the State, districts, and schools are available at the following website:  http://firn.edu/doe/sas/fcat.  However, these reports do not include disaggregated data or individual student data.

A preliminary analysis of the March 2004 results revealed the following: 

FY2004 FCAT-NRT Reading Results for All Curriculum Groups

·         The median percentile (MPR) scores for most grades are higher than in FY2001.  Grade 3 has shown continuous improvement each year since FY2001.

·         The District scores are similar to those of the State.

·         The District performed significantly higher than the Nation in grades 3 through 8 and significantly lower than the Nation in grades 9 and 10.

 
FY2004 FCAT-NRT Mathematics Results for All Curriculum Groups

·         The MPR score for each grade is higher than in FY2001.  Grades 3, 4, 6, and 8 have shown continuous improvement since FY2001.

·         The District performed significantly higher than the State in grades 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10.

·         The District performed significantly higher than the Nation in all grades.

In order to understand these scores more fully and for a convenient reference, the Department of Research, Evaluation, and Accountability has developed a table that provides NRT scores for the School District of Palm Beach County and Florida from FY2001 through FY2004.  The enclosed table may be used to review progress over time for all curriculum students.

ACJ:MB:ds

c/attachment:     Chief Academic/Administration/Operational Officers    

                          Area/Assistant Superintendents

                          Compliance Directors

                          Chief Public Information Officer

                          Principals

Academic Executive Director/Directors



[1] All curriculum groups include standard curriculum students as well as students in specific Exceptional Student Education programs and/or students who participated in the Limited English Proficient Program for two years or less.  The NRT is not used to calculate school grades.