Florida Students Soar: DeSantis Hails Third Year of Rising Academic Performance
Florida students are continuing their upward trajectory in academic achievement, Governor Ron DeSantis announced today, highlighting significant improvements across English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, End-of-Course (EOC), and Science assessments for the third consecutive year.
The Governor attributed this success to the state’s innovative, first-in-the-nation Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) progress monitoring system.
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“Florida insists that education be factual, student-focused, and parent empowered,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “Florida has led the nation in instituting progress monitoring assessments that allow for teachers and parents to provide real-time interventions that support the long-term success of their students, and our approach has paid off.”
The FAST system provides educators, students, and parents with immediate and actionable data at three points during the school year, enabling targeted support and intervention. This continuous feedback loop appears to be yielding substantial results across various grade levels and subjects.
Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. echoed the Governor’s sentiments, stating, “I am proud of our students and teachers for their hard work during the past school year. Today’s results affirm that our first-in-the-nation statewide progress monitoring system is making a difference for our students.”
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Incoming Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas also praised the system, noting, “Progress monitoring assessments are a prime example of how Florida has changed education for the better, and the scores are proof of our successful approach.”
Key Highlights from the Latest Assessment Results:
Impressive School Year Gains:
- Grades 3-10 English Language Arts (ELA): Performance surged by an impressive 21 percentage points from the beginning to the end of the school year (PM1 to PM3), with 57% of students now scoring on or above grade level in PM3, compared to just 36% at PM1.
- Grades 3-8 Mathematics: An even more dramatic leap was observed in mathematics, with performance increasing by a remarkable 44 percentage points from PM1 to PM3. A robust 59% of students are now on grade level or higher in PM3, up from a mere 15% in PM1.
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Consistent Year-Over-Year Improvement:
- Grades 3-10 ELA: The percentage of students scoring on or above grade level on the end-of-year ELA assessment (PM3) reached 57% in 2025, marking a 4 percentage point increase from 2024 and an 8 percentage point increase from 2023.
- Mathematics (PM3 and EOCs): In mathematics, 58% of students scored on or above grade level in 2025, a 3 percentage point improvement from 2024 and a 7 percentage point gain from 2023.
Strong Performance in End-of-Course and Science Assessments:
- Algebra 1: 57% of students scored at or above grade level, up 4 points from 2024 and 7 points from 2023.
- Geometry: 54% of students achieved at or above grade level, a 2-point increase from 2024 and an 8-point increase from 2023.
- 5th Grade Science: 55% of students scored on or above grade level, a 2-point increase from 2024.
- 8th Grade Science/Biology 1 EOC: 53% of students scored on or above grade level, up 4 points from 2024.
- Biology 1: A strong 70% of students scored at or above grade level, a 4-point increase from 2024.
- Civics: 70% of students scored at or above grade level, up 3 points from 2024.
- U.S. History: 70% of students scored at or above grade level, also a 3-point increase from 2024.
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Success Across Student Subgroups:
The positive trends were also evident across various student demographics, underscoring the broad impact of the state’s educational strategies:
- Students with disabilities saw a 4 percentage point increase (from 25% to 29%) in Grades 3-10 ELA performance compared to 2024.
- Students from economically disadvantaged families improved their performance by 3 percentage points (from 44% to 47%) in Grades 3-10 ELA compared to 2024.
- African American students experienced a 5 percentage point increase (from 40% to 45%) in Grades 3-10 ELA performance (Level 3 or above) compared to 2024.
- Hispanic students saw a 4 percentage point increase (from 51% to 55%) in Mathematics (Grades 3-8 and EOCs) compared to 2024.
- Students from economically disadvantaged families also showed a 4 percentage point improvement (from 59% to 63%) on the U.S. History EOC compared to 2024.
The continued rise in academic performance suggests that Florida’s focus on progress monitoring and data-driven interventions is positively shaping the educational landscape for students across the state.
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