Posted by
Tanya Arja / Erin Maloney
on
10/24/2022 5:27:00 PM
For Immediate Release
Contact: Tanya Arja or Erin Maloney
Hillsborough County Public Schools
Office of Communications
813-272-4060
Tampa, Fla. (October 24, 2022)– Despite a challenging year following pandemic-related educational disruptions, Hillsborough County Public Schools students outperformed many of its peers in the “Nation’s Report Card” assessment.
Fourth grade students in HCPS obtained the highest scores in reading and math, leading the way among 26 large urban school districts across the country. District 8th grade students also earned some of the highest overall reading scores, ranking third among participating districts.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is an indicator of how school districts perform over time, highlighting long-term trends in comparison with other school districts. The congressionally mandated assessment is administered in all 50 states.
“I am so proud of our students and grateful to our dedicated teachers, school-based leaders, support professionals, district staff, and School Board members for the tremendous work. As we faced learning disruptions related to the pandemic, our district worked tirelessly to ensure our students had the essentials and exposure to grade level appropriate content allowing them to maintain instructional momentum,” said Superintendent Addison Davis.
Hillsborough County 4th graders led all participating districts in the reading assessment. These results moved Hillsborough County Public Schools from a ranking of #3 in 2019 during the last analysis to the top spot this year. This is the first time our district earned the #1 spot since 2015. The percentage of HCPS 4th grade students who were deemed at or above proficient in reading was higher than any other participating district.
Hillsborough County 4th grade students also took the top spot in math for the first time since we began participating and up from #5 in 2019. The percentage of students performing at or above the proficient level in math in Hillsborough County was higher than their peers in other large districts.
In reading, HCPS 8th graders also had an impressive showing taking the #3 spot, performing similarly with several other large districts including Miami-Dade, Denver, Los Angeles, and New York City schools. In 8th grade reading, our student subgroups outperformed most of their counterparts in categories including Hispanic, Black, students with disabilities, and students from economically challenged families.
HCPS 8th grade students ranked #7 in math among the 26 large urban districts. These scores provide us with useful information to better inform our math instruction in an effort to further close the achievement gap.