FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
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STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
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JIM HORNE
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
LINDA J. EADS, ED.D.
CHARLES PATRICK GARCÍA
JULIA L. JOHNSON
WILLIAM L. PROCTOR, PH.D.
LINDA K. TAYLOR
MEMORANDUM
TO:
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District School Superintendents
Community College Presidents
State University Presidents
FROM:
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John L. Winn
DATE:
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March 23, 2004
SUBJECT:
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Postsecondary Feedback Report
Each year, Florida attempts to answer the question of how well high school graduates are
prepared for postsecondary education. Traditionally, Florida has based its evaluation on
student performance on common placement tests. Because we know that performance on these
assessments is just one of many indicators of a student’s preparedness, the Department of
Education has begun work on a more “comprehensive college ready profile.” This new profile,
once established, will be used in helping to define the K-20 measure “Evidence of Student
Progression and Readiness.”
In developing this more comprehensive profile, many of the indicators that we know contribute
to a student that is “college ready” will be examined, including:
·
Participation and Success in Acceleration Mechanisms
·
High School Coursework
·
FCAT Scores
Over the last several years, Florida’s performance on common placement tests has not changed
dramatically. However, we have seen dramatic increases in some of the other indicators
mentioned above. For example, from 1999 to 2003, Florida has seen the following increases:
·
75.8% increase in the number of students taking AP exams and 65.1% increase in the
number of exams with a score of 3 or higher.
·
49% increase in the number of African American students taking dual enrollment courses.
·
62% increase in African-American SAT participation and 72% increase in Hispanic
participation. SAT performance for African-Americans is about the same as it is nationally
and Hispanic student performance outscores national performance by 39 points.
JOHN L. WINN
Chief of Staff
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0505 • www.fldoe.org
March 23, 2004
Page 2
We know Florida students are taking more AP and dual enrollment courses, completing a
college-prep curriculum, and improving their scores on the FCAT. However, current feedback
reports do not capture these achievements. In addition, current reports only capture those
students who have taken the CPT, SAT, or ACT — and continue on to a public postsecondary
institution in Florida. We are not capturing all of our high school graduates.
The Department has begun work on this “comprehensive college-ready profile,” and will
continue to do so through input from many sectors. In the meantime, with this memo we are
releasing the annual data on high school graduates’ performance on common placement tests.
The data is being released through our new website titled
Performance on the Common
Placement Test.
The web site may be accessed directly at http://info.doe.state.fl.us/perfCPT/,
or through a link on the DOE homepage. The web reports include performance on placement
tests for students who graduated from public high schools in Florida and attended public
colleges or universities in Florida during the academic year immediately following high school
graduation. As mentioned earlier, students who did not go to college or who attended private or
out-of-state colleges are not included in these reports.
For 2002 graduates, 54.5% of standard diploma recipients enrolled as degree-seeking students
at one of Florida’s public universities or community colleges in the year following graduation.
This is up from 53.9% for the previous year’s graduates. Although there was a slight decline in
the percentage ready in all three areas (from 58.2% to 58.1%), in four of the five subgroups there
was an increase.
Percent Scoring Above Cutoff Score in All Three Subjects
2001 Graduates
2002 Graduates
# Tested
% Above Cutoff
# Tested
% Above Cutoff
American Indian
189
57.1%
203
59.6%
Asian
2,070
68%
2,286
69.9%
Black
9,568
33.8%
10,203
33.9%
Hispanic
9,055
45.9%
10,490
48.5%
White
34,444
67.9%
35,173
67.5%
Each district’s MIS director will receive instructions for accessing student-level performance
data via the mainframe. Unlike the bound reports provided in previous years, this new
mainframe access will allow districts to query and print the specific information they need for
local reporting purposes.
We look forward to your involvement in the development of a more “comprehensive college
ready profile” for measuring progression and readiness in Florida. If you have questions or
feedback, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Dr. Laura Hébert directly at
Laura.Hebert@fldoe.org or by telephone at (850) 245-9558.
