- Leon County students made a small jump in numbers on the 2023-2024 state’s English Language Arts exam and mathematics exam.
- Leon County seen a 1% increase in ELA and 2% increase in math.
- Watch the video above to hear from a Leon County principal and the superintendent on the topic of state exam scores.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
“If you try, you will be successful!”
Dr. Benny Bolden Jr. has been principal at Nims middle school for six years. He knows about the Leon County exam scores published by the Florida Department of Education.
Leon County students made a small jump in numbers on the 2023-2024 state’s English Language Arts exam and mathematics exam.
Specifically, 1% in English Language Arts and 2% in math, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Those scores come after challenges in post-pandemic learning.
“That learning loss still exists; you have to almost graduate this wave out. This is something Leon County schools is going to see for a little bit of time now.”
Time is what Superintendent Rocky Hanna agrees with.
“It’s just going to a little time to get back on our game.”
Wednesday afternoon I met with Hanna.
“Schools like Sable Palm, Rickards, and Nims; they’re all in my neighborhood. Is the goal the same as far as trying to meet satisfactory grades in those schools?
“It absolutely is. The schools on the Southside of town are predominantly title-one schools. They receive extra resources; we’ve seen some successes. Teachers and our school administrators are working hard to get our kids back up to speed.”
Hanna also says the plan is to collaborate to find the best practices and see what successes are being had in other parts of the country coming out of the pandemic, as well as motivate students.
“We have to make sure we’re prepared academically; we have to make sure teachers are doing what’s necessary.”
Dr. Bolden says he’s noticed the jump in his school, that jump is also recognized by Hanna.
“Nims middle school, some of their scores were off the chain, the highest in school history.”
Although, schools like Nims and others are showing promise, principals like Dr. Bolden say it’s up to the students as well.
“If they can honor the idea of coming to school and being a scholar, it will show up on standardized assessments.”
