FOX 13 investigates declining high school test scores
TAMPA - Dr. Paul Cottle is a Florida State Physics professor who says Florida students are losing ground in math and science.
"As of Fall 2022, of the large high schools in Florida (those with a thousand or more students), about one in five didn’t teach physics," Cottle said. "That is an enormously large number and it’s a much larger number than even five years ago."
The American Institute of Physics does a survey every few years to find out how many high school students are taking physics and what they’re learning.
In 2019, a researcher saw the results from Florida and couldn’t believe it.
"Florida seemed to be declining at a rate greater than any other state in the union. She figured that had to be wrong., so she contacted me," said Cottle. He reviewed state data and confirmed the initial conclusions were correct.
National test scores also show declines in math across the rest of the United States since 2020. That correlates to disruptions through the pandemic.
However, the challenges in Florida started long before the pandemic and the losses start showing in national test scores in the middle school years.
That's where Florida slides from being a national leader to lagging the nation.
"You can see already math skills at 8th grade level have declined significantly from where they are in 4th grade and the SATs tell us that nothing has improved in high school," said Cottle.
That appears to be showing in the test most Florida high school students take to get college scholarships and be admitted to college. Florida’s mean SAT score of 966 ranks near the bottom of the nation—46th among the 50 states and Washington DC. And Florida's mean score has dropped each year since 2005.
Florida does have a higher percentage of students taking the SAT than most states (around 90 percent take it in Florida). But in math, among the dozen systems that have at least 90-percent taking the exam, Florida still ranks behind all of them except New Mexico and West Virginia. And Florida trails the Washington DC school system which requires all students to take the test.
Florida’s mean score also trails what’s needed to get a Bright Futures Scholarship and the mid-range scores of leading Florida Universities, including USF, UCF, FSU and the University of Florida.
Private SAT tutors offer several theories to explain Florida’s slide in SAT scores.
Jonatan Andreadakis said the SAT covers some things a lot of students don't learn Florida public schools.
"Statistics makes up 5-15 percent of SAT questions and there are no requirements to take any statistics courses in FL high schools," Andreadakis said. "For many, they’ve never learned how to calculate a standard deviation or multiple averages and compare those. It’s just not something they're taught."
Andreadakis noted the issue may go much deeper than that. He said he noticed another problem when he moved from Minnesota to Florida in 8th grade.
"What I would learn in Minnesota, we would literally learn earlier than the students in Florida," he said.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) ties part of that to Florida's focus on preparing students for other standardized tests as the years progress.
READ: Changes to SAT: Here’s what to know as college entrance exam goes digital
"In Kindergarten, first and second grade, there are no high stakes tests and without those high stakes tests, teachers often have more flexibility to meet the needs of students without having to worry are they going to do well on a specific test," said FEA President Andrew Spar.
He said a teacher shortage could also contribute to declining test scores, especially with the need for higher-level math and English teachers.
"When you have thousands of vacancies across the state, you wind up in a situation where you have hundreds of thousands of students not having a highly trained teacher in front of them," Spar said.
Cottle says that relates to the desire many prospectives teachers have for more autonomy in their classrooms and teacher pay.
"If you have a job, even if you love the job and it's not paying you enough to start a family, you’re going to have to leave," said Cottle.
The non-profit data analyst USA Facts tracked which states pay teachers the most and least. When adjusted for cost of living from 2021-2022, it ranked Florida last.
James Collins is a private SAT tutor who plans to leave Florida for a job in teaching. "The state of Florida doesn't really value its teachers in terms of pay," he said.
He and other private tutors noted another reason why a lot of students may struggle on the SAT.
"Most instances students will tell me they’ve seen a lot of similar problems before, but they forgot how to do them," said tutor Pranav Merhra.
While Florida does teach subjects like algebra and geometry that are on the SAT, students often take the test a year or two later with no refreshers.
"At the school systems there are not SAT classes," said tutor Janis Perez. "I feel it’s really important to get used to seeing the test."
We asked the Florida Department of Education for an interview on student SAT performance. It did not respond to our request.
For state scholarships and admissions, Florida now accepts an alternative to the SAT and ACT called test called the Classic Learning Test. It's often taken by private home-schooled students.