312 Elementary Schools In Florida Forced To Have Longer School Days Due To Disappointing Reading Test Performance Results

Elementary schools in Florida will have to take longer school days this year after a disappointing performance on the Florida Standards Assessment, or FSA, test. The additional school time will be devoted to extra reading instruction for students.

The FSA, which is for K-12 students, ensures that all pupils graduating from high school will assume the skills needed to succeed in college, career, and life. The FSA covers English Language Arts (ELA), Mathematics, and End-of-Course (EOC) subjects (Algebra 1, Algebra 2, and Geometry).

Lowest Performing Elementary Schools List

Many students in Florida got low scores on the FSA test, as stated in the Florida Department of Education's 300 Lowest Performing Elementary Schools for 2015-2016 list released on Friday. Schools that scored within the C, D, and F categories will have an extra hour added to their six-hour school day, whether it's "at the beginning, end, or a combination of the two," WPTV reported.

The list, which enumerated 312 low-performing elementary schools in Florida, includes schools in Broward, Lake, Marion, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, Seminole, St. Lucie, and Volusia counties, among others. Out of the 67 counties, only three -- Okaloosa, Sarasota and St. Johns -- got an A grade in the FSA test, Tampa Bay Times reported.

Dozens of schools, meanwhile, saw student improvements in the state and will now lose the extra hour of school. In Palm Beach County, however, some schools maintained the longer school days so students will not slack off, but officials in the county haven't decided yet whether they will repeat that this school year, Sun-Sentinel noted.

Palm Beach has 20 schools included in the state's list, which is down from the 25 campuses recorded last school year. Miami-Dade County has 25 schools in the list from 29.

Different Receptions

State lawmakers believe that the extra hour will improve the performance of students having a hard time reading well. Lower than 30 percent of the students in these schools have passed the FSA language arts exam they undertook this spring.

Educators and parents, however, are a mixed bunch. Some think that the additional school day hour will benefit students, while others believe that the extra hour could be too taxing for children, according to Orlando Sentinel.

The Florida Legislature provided the funds needed for the longer school days. When the program started a few years ago, it only gave money to 100 schools. But that changed and expanded to 300 schools in 2014.

A replacement to the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or (FCAT), FSA has been criticized by teachers and parents alike. Educators claimed that the FSA's testing criteria are harder and "more rigorous" than the FCAT test, The Famuan Online reported.