News Briefs

+ East County schools are the exception for FCAT scores
FCAT results released May 24 show fewer than half of Manatee County’s third-grade students are reading or have math skills at or above grade level.

The county’s scores for third grade were stagnant compared to last year. This year, 49% of third-graders had satisfactory marks in reading and math.

Satisfactory means scoring higher than a 3 on a scale of 5.

Last year, only half of third-graders were proficient in reading, and 48% were proficient in math.

Fewer than 60% of Florida’s third-graders — 57% — are reading at or above grade level.That figure represents a slight increase from last year’s 56%.

An East County school, Gene Witt Elementary, did better than most, with 70% of its third-graders scoring a three or above in reading.

In math, 58% of Florida third-graders scored at or above grade level — a figure unchanged from last year.
Willis Elementary third-graders stood out in math, with 69% of its students scoring a 3 or above.

“We do have some bright stars, but I know Manatee County has the ability to have many more bright stars,” said Dr. Diana Greene, the district’s new deputy superintendent of instruction. “Now begins our work. We now have a baseline, and we will develop an action plan to address this for the next school year and have a pathway to fill the sky up with bright lights.”

Overall, less than half of the county earned satisfactory marks on the writing component of the FCAT, but scores did improve for fourth- and eighth-graders.

Both Willis and Gene Witt Elementary had 67% of their fourth-graders score 3.5 or above.

At McNeal Elementary, 81% of fourth-graders scored 3.5 or above.

Fourth-grade writing scores increased from 42% to 45%, and eighth-grade scores went up from 41% to 44%.
Just more than half of Manatee County 10th-graders ranked proficient on the writing portion of the FCAT, a small drop from last year.

Leading the way was Lakewood Ranch High School, which had 67% of its 10th-graders scoring 3.5 or above.

Meetings & Agendas
• Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Budget Presentation Workshop — 9 a.m. May 30,
at 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton
• Manatee County School Board Workshop (Student Progression Plan
and Code of Student Conduct) —
5:45 p.m. June 3, at 215 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton
• Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Meeting — 9 a.m. June 4, at 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton
• Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Decision Unit Review — 9 a.m. June 5, at 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton
• Manatee County Board of County Commissioners Land-use Meeting —
9 a.m. June 6, at 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton