Sunshine Sentinel

Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. announced that students improved performance in all Social Studies metrics according to Florida’s 2022 statewide assessment results. Achievement gaps between African American students and White students also narrowed on all Social Studies and Science assessments with African American students displaying the largest performance increases of all students in both subject areas.

Overall, students achieved the largest improvement statewide on the Civics End of Course (EOC) Assessment with 69 percent of students passing – an increase of 5 percentage points compared to 2021. Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has launched the Civic Literacy Excellence Initiative, a bold plan to become the #1 state in the nation for civics education and ensure students leave school prepared to become knowledgeable and active citizens. Today’s results demonstrate that Florida is on the right trajectory to continue accelerating student achievement and improving outcomes.

“Every single Florida teacher, student, and parent should be proud of the progress we’ve made over the last year,” said Commissioner Manny Diaz, Jr. “As a department, we’re looking forward to building on this great work through the many learning initiatives and improvements on the horizon.”

Key Takeaways from the 2022 Statewide Science and Social Studies Assessments:

• African American students increased performance by 8 percentage points in Civics, 4 percentage points in U.S. History, 3 percentage points in 5th Grade Science, 2 percentage points in 8th Grade Science (including 8th grade students who took the Biology 1 EOC), and 1 percentage point in Biology 1.
• Students from economically disadvantaged families increased performance by 7 percentage points in Civics, 2 percentage points in 5th Grade Science and U.S. History, and 1 percentage point in 8th Grade Science (including 8th grade students who took the Biology 1 EOC).
• Hispanic students increased performance by 6 percentage points in Civics, 3 percentage points in US History, and 3 percentage points in 5th Grade Science.
• Achievement gaps between White and African American students narrowed on all Social Studies and Science metrics; 5 percentage points in Civics, 4 percentage points in U.S. History, 3 percentage points in 5th Grade Science, 2 percentage points in 8th Grade Science (including 8th Grade students who took the Biology 1 EOC), and 1 percentage point in Biology 1.
• Achievement gaps between White and Hispanic students narrowed on all Social Studies assessments and 5th Grade Science by 3 percentage points in all 3 areas.

Overall Statewide Comparison

Compared to 2021, students improved in Social Studies and remained relatively consistent in Science on the statewide assessments.

• Civics EOC performance increased by 5 percentage points (64% to 69%).
• U.S. History EOC performance increased by 2 percentage points (63% to 65%).
• 5th Grade Science performance increased by 1 percentage point (47% to 48%).
• 8th Grade Science (including 8th Grade students who took the Biology 1 EOC) performance remained the same (48%).
• Biology 1 EOC performance decreased by 1 percentage point (62% to 61%).

Similar to the 2022 Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments, today’s results continue to validate Florida’s actions to overcome pandemic-related disruptions and promote in-person instruction. Florida will continue to elevate student achievement by transitioning to progress monitoring, giving parents and teachers more timely access to data to inform decision making and identify students in need of additional support.

To view the statewide and district-level results, visit: https://www.fldoe.org/accountability/assessments/k-12-student-assessment/results/2022.stml.

_{Source: https://origin.fldoe.org/newsroom/latest-news/florida-students-continue-to-gain-knowledge-and-close-achievement-gaps-in-history-and-science.stml?fbclid=IwAR0f6b8_lZr7nm6ozXiK80DF8-qjYZOeyb663wBy4ZJq3cB7JO0OpmV8IEY}