{"id":6214,"date":"2026-07-02T10:05:02","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6214"},"modified":"2026-07-02T10:05:02","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T10:05:02","slug":"floridas-reading-math-scores-look-promising-experts-say-wait-and-see","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=6214","title":{"rendered":"Florida\u2019s reading, math scores look promising. Experts say wait and see"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Florida students posted record-high scores on the state\u2019s annual reading and math tests this year, a promising gain that experts said should be viewed with cautious optimism until more data is available.<\/p>\n

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Last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that this year, for the first time ever, 60% of Florida\u2019s students tested at or above grade level in reading and math. The increases represent continued gains from last year and a sharp jump, especially in reading, from where Florida stood just three years ago when only about half of students read at or above grade level.<\/p>\n

But those better test scores came as Florida\u2019s public schools lost students this past academic year, including immigrant students still learning English \u2014 a group that typically struggles on standardized reading exams.<\/p>\n

Such demographic changes could impact test performance but likely do not alter the \u201cpositive story\u201d of Florida\u2019s 2026 scores, said Andrew Ho, a professor at Harvard University\u2019s Graduate School of Education whose research aims to improve the use of test scores in education.<\/p>\n

The raw decline in enrollment and test takers likely wasn\u2019t enough to erase the size of the gains Florida saw this year, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at that magnitude of the gains in Florida, which I would say are notable \u2026 there\u2019s essentially no chance that the gains are due to an out\u2011migration of low\u2011scoring students alone,\u201d Ho added.<\/p>\n

But Ho, who previously served on the governing board of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, said upcoming results from national tests administered to a sampling of students nationwide should more clearly show the scope of Florida\u2019s improvements.<\/p>\n

Florida\u2019s 2024 scores on NAEP, dubbed the \u201cnation\u2019s report card,\u201d showed the state hitting 20-year lows in both math and reading, with students still struggling academically after the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

In 2023, Florida introduced a new standardized test, the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking, or FAST. These are \u201cprogress-monitoring tests,\u201d meaning students take them three times a year.<\/p>\n

The first two tests aim to show what students know and what they still need to learn. The third test, taken in the spring, is more consequential. It was those scores the state released last week for schools and districts.<\/p>\n

That third test is high-stakes, with the scores used to help make promotion and graduation decisions for students and to grade public schools A-to-F.<\/p>\n

At his June 26 press conference, DeSantis credited the state\u2019s shift to the FAST test for student\u2019s academic improvement.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThis innovation was the right way to go. I believed in it, it made sense, thought it would be good for students, and now we\u2019re seeing that this is really paying off,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n

School districts in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties mirrored the state\u2019s improvements in reading and math scores.<\/p>\n

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Those gains led to more A\u2019s and B\u2019s on Florida\u2019s annual school report card, which the state released Wednesday.<\/p>\n

This year, 76% of all Florida schools earned an A or B, up from 71% last year. Though the number of schools graded fell slightly to 3,428, the percentage earning top marks jumped sharply, from 44% receiving A\u2019s last year to 51% this year.<\/p>\n

There were very few F grades statewide in 2026, and just two in Central Florida, both given to charter schools in Osceola.<\/p>\n

The state also grades school districts. The school districts in Orange, Seminole and Lake counties maintained their A ratings, and Osceola kept its B grade this year.<\/p>\n

This year, thousands fewer students took FAST exams compared to last as enrollment declined statewide and in most Central Florida school districts. Officials attribute the drops to the expansion of Florida\u2019s voucher program, which provides scholarships for private schools and homeschooling services, as well as a decline in birthrates and the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown.<\/p>\n

In 2026, for example, 11,300 fewer third graders took the state reading test compared to a year ago, and the students tested this year had a passing rate that was 3 percentage points higher than in 2025. On the Algebra exam, taken by middle and high schoolers, there were about 7,000 fewer test takers this year, and the passing rate was also up 3 percentage points.<\/p>\n

Statewide, enrollment in Florida public schools dropped an estimated 63,000 students in the 2025-26 school year. In a January report, state demographers blamed enrollment losses in part on the \u201cchilling effects\u201d of President Donald Trump\u2019s immigration policies.<\/p>\n

There are no specific estimates for how many immigrant students have left Florida\u2019s public schools, but the number of students statewide taking English for Speakers of Other Languages classes has dropped by more than 17,000 this year, according to the report by Florida\u2019s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, offering one measure immigrant exits.<\/p>\n

\u201cAverage achievement scores can be influenced by changing the pool of students who are tested,\u201d said Brian Jacob, a professor at the University of Michigan researching urban school reform and standards and accountability initiatives. \u201cIf kind of typically lower achieving students leave the state, or any one district, that would lead to higher average scores, even if there was no change in the skill level of students who stayed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Florida has a long history of helping young students make gains in reading dating back to 2002, Jacob said. The state showed tremendous growth on the NAEP from 2002 until 2017, when scores began to fall off.<\/p>\n

The latest improvements could represent real change, he said, but he too wants to see NAEP scores.<\/p>\n

Because testing populations can change, and state exams often cause schools to teach to the test, Jacob said NAEP scores will provide the clearest view of Florida\u2019s current academic progress. He called the NAEP a \u201cmuch better measure of underlying student ability.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The next round of NAEP results is scheduled to be released in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida students’ scores on reading, math tests showed gains in 2026, but experts want to see corresponding improvements on national tests that will be released early next year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFlorida\u2019s reading, math scores look promising. 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