I want to mention two of my favorite middle schools and their performances on the 8th grade Science FCAT.
One is a Leon County Charter, School of Arts and Science. That school’s students, guided by their one and only middle school science teacher, Julie Sear, placed fourth in the state in pass rate at 95%. They also tied for fifth in the state in their average score on the physical science component of that test with 12 (out of 15). SAS is the only publicly-funded school in Leon County that teaches physical science to all of its middle school students.
Orlando Science School, another charter and perhaps the most audacious science education project in the state (see this feature from redefinedonline.org) also averaged 12 on the physical science section. Their pass rate for the test was 85%, which tied them for 18th in the state.
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