PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The results are in and Florida students improved their scores in the final year of the Florida Standards Assessments.
In Palm Beach County, scores are up from last year on the FSA, but they are still down compared to pre-pandemic levels. That includes the tough area of math, one of the most difficult subjects to overcome.
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Math tends to be a real problem for many students, like Tyler Cohen.
"I came here three times a week every single week. It was just amazing," Cohen said.
Math tutoring center Mathnasiumhelped Cohen prepare for the FSA and make up for skills that weren't adding up.
"During the FSA when diagnostic scores come out or testing scores come out, we have a lot of parents reach out because they see if their students are behind and they want that extra support to help them do better on the test," said Toni Pancione, an area manager for Mathnasium.
Pancione said Mathnasium had record enrollment over the past year.
"It seemed like their math skills were stopped where COVID started," Pancione said.
But all that extra work seems to be multiplying, as FSA math scores went up this year in almost every grade level and across our five-county viewing area.
For example, let's look at fourth grade math. This year, 59% of Palm Beach County fourth graders scored a passing grade of three or higher. Last year, that number was 46%. But back in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic, it was 67%.
"I'm sure that everyone being in school was part of that," said Stacey Rowe, a Palm Beach County teacher who spends time providing free tutoring and homework help at the Mandel Public Library in downtown West Palm Beach.
Rowe said all the extra support for students is making an impact.
"I think parents are taking it more seriously and asking for more help and using those resources more," Rowe said.
This year was the final time students took the Florida Standards Assessments. Next school year,statewide standardized testing will move to a progress monitoring system, with testing spaced out through the year.
WATCH: FSA officially eliminated, replaced with progress monitoring system
School districts in Florida expect the science and social studies FSA scores to be released sometime on Thursday.
To see county-by-county results from this year's FSA exams, click here.
