Schools
Deer Park Elementary Students Excel On FCAT Writing Exam
A team effort translates into a huge success, as 100% of 4th graders pass the state writing assessment.
Teachers at Deer Park elementary school were elated to find out that their fourth graders had the third highest score on the FCAT writing test compared to students on the same grade level in Florida.
"Yesterday, when we received the news about the scores, were were all celebrating and everyone was so excited," said writing teacher, Mrs. Linden
Principal Shirly Porebski was ecstatic about the news.
Find out what's happening in Westchasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"I knew our students would do well," she said. "However, these results were simply phenomenal."
Linda Cobbe, spokesperson for Hillsborough County School District, attributed the success to everyone in the school.
Find out what's happening in Westchasewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
"It shows how important talented teachers, committed administrators, involved parents, and smart students are in achieving success," Cobbe said.
The FCAT writing test is an assessment that measures writing proficiency in grades, 4, 8 and 10. Student essays are holistically graded on a scale of 1-6, with 4 or above being the score students need to attain to pass the test.
All of Deer Park's fourth graders scored a 4 or above -- that's 100 percent. The breakdown included:
- 57 students scored a 4
- 76 scored a 5
- 21 students scored a 6
"Last year we had 87 out of 101 students score above a 4 on the test," said Assistant Principal Amber Rutherford.
She confirmed that even though last year the students exceeded the state average, the teachers at Deer Park were not satisfied with the results and wanted their students to do better this year.
Early in the year, Deer Park's third and fourt grade writing teachers met with teachers from Clark Elementary. Clark had 30 students score a 6 on last year's test.
The collaborative sessions led the 8 writing teachers: Mrs. Calvo, Mrs. Linden, Mrs. Kiser, Miss Austin, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Jasiulevicius, Mrs. Moore, and Mrs. Lopez to develop a writing rotation of intense lessons designed to build student writing skills.
Students were also rewarded for their achievements as writers with recognition on the school's morning show, author's lunches and a variety of positive incentives to continue to show them the benefits for their hard work.
Principal Porebski also credits parents who have always been very supportive of the programs and actively involved in their childrens' education.
As part of the celebration, students were treated to an ice party in the courtyard to salute their achievement on this year's test.