FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
?
STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
John L. Winn
Commissioner of Education
F. PHILIP HANDY,
Chairman
T. WILLARD FAIR,
Vice Chairman
Members
DONNA G. CALLAWAY
JULIA L. JOHNSON
ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
PHOEBE RAULERSON
LINDA K. TAYLOR
May 17, 2005
M E M O R A N D U M
TO:
District School Superintendents
Community College Presidents
State University Presidents
FROM:
Theresa A. Klebacha, Ph.D.
SUBJECT:
Performance on the Common Placement Test
Improving student rates of learning has been established as one of the top priorities in the Florida
Department of Education’s strategic plan, known as “Eight to be Great!” The specific goal is for every
student to be proficient on grade level in reading, writing, and mathematics. This includes ensuring that
all students who graduate from a Florida high school are prepared to succeed in college. Infusing
academic rigor into every high school student’s sch
edule is a proven method for increasing success in
college and beyond. As rigor becomes the norm in our high schools, the increasing success of our
students will be tracked and reported to you.
The Department of Education is in the process of compiling a comprehensive list of readiness indicators
to share with school districts and individual high schools regarding their recent high school graduates.
The new data is expected to be released in the summer of 2005 and include information on 2004 high
school graduates. A component of this new report has traditionally been released annually as a report
called
Performance on the Common Placement Test.
Its purpose was to provide districts and schools with
information about their graduates' performance on entry-level placement assessments at Florida's
community colleges and state universities. Prior to the release of the new report, this year’s
Performance
on the Common Placement Test
is being released in the old format.
THERESA A. KLEBACHA, PH.D.
Director, Strategic Initiatives
325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 1502 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-9840
District School Superintendents
Community College Presidents
State University Presidents
May 17, 2005
Page Two
The latest version of
Performance on the Common Placement Test
covers 2003 public high school
graduates who attended public colleges or universities in Florida during the academic year immediately
following high school graduation. Students who did not go to college or who attended private or out-of-
state colleges are not included in these reports. The Web format provides state summaries by district,
school, college and ethnicity, as well as specialized reports that districts and colleges have asked us to
produce to assist with tracking their students. The reports are available at
http://info.doe.state.fl.us/perfCPT/
.
You will notice as you review the reports that there was a full percentage point increase over the prior
year in students scoring above the cutoff score in all three testing areas (from 58.1% to 59.1%). Even
more striking are the gains made by underrepresented groups of students. As the summary chart below
indicates, black students scoring above the cutoff score in all three subject areas increased by 1.5
percentage points, while Hispanic students in the same category increased by 2.8 percentage points.
Percent Scoring Above Cutoff Score in All Three Subjects
2002 Graduates
2003 Graduates
# Tested
% Above Cutoff
# Tested
% Above Cutoff
All Degree-Seeking Students
59,451 58.1% 62,002 59.1%
American Indian
203
59.6%
217
59%
Asian
2,286 69.9% 2,213 72.4%
Black
10,203
33.9%
10,088
35.4%
Hispanic
10,490 48.5% 11,422 51.3%
White
35,173
67.5%
36,851
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 years past, mainframe access allows districts to query
and print the specific information they need for local reporting purposes.
If you have questions or feedback, we would like to hear from you. Please contact Dr. Heather Sherry
directly at Heather.Sherry@fldoe.org or by telephone at 850-245-0427.
TK/hsa
