Test results are now in for the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, better known as the FCAT. Nearly a quarter of Florida's third-graders failed the FCAT reading exam this year, and many will be held back as the state enforces a new ban on social promotion. Statewide, about 43,000 didn't pass the reading test and in the seven-county region, 8,468 students scored at the lowest of five levels.

The three-part test given annually to all students in grades 3 through 10. One part measures student achievement in reading, writing and mathematics based on the state’s grade-level standards. The second part of the test, a norm-referenced section, is designed to compare the performance of Florida students to the performance of students across the country. The third part is an essay test on an assigned topic, which is given in grades 4, 8 and 10.

Advancing Education is one of the key strategies myregion.org will present to the public on Friday, July 11. In order for Central Florida to be more globally competitive in the 21st century, dramatic improvement in the strength and quality of the Pre-K to 20 education system is crucial. The education system also has an impact on the region’s growth pattern as parents and corporations seek the best school systems when looking for new residential and corporate locations making the educational system a generator and perpetuator of urban sprawl.  Education is an issue the entire region should be concerned about.  Whether you have children in school or not, the education system effects the entire region.

To view the results throughout the region and the state, visit the Department of Education’s Web site, at www.fcat.fldoe.org.

For more information on the strategies myregion.org is developing, please visit www.myregion.org.