Crisis: Math scores tragic

The middle school math scores are tragic with only one eighth class above the state average (46%)–the magnet school Brown Barge (66%). The other eight middle schools are dismal.

Workman Middle School has some of the worse math scores in Florida -only 4 percent are on grade level or better—82 percent are doing math at a third grade level or worse.

This isn’t a teaching issue. No, it’s the district administration that has failed two-thirds of its students on curriculum, textbooks and training.


In 2015, Superintendent Malcolm Thomas touted his Vision 2020 plan that put Chromebooks in every students hands and eliminated textbooks. Thomas said he wanted to “reinvent learning environments.”

The transformation would be based on:

  • Transformation of school culture
  • Alignment of Curriculum Resources
  • Re-invent Learning Environments
  • Professional Growth and Development
  • Provide Student-Centered Tools & Opportunities

Nice words but four years later, another Thomas initiative has fallen flat.

Spring 2019 FSA Math Grade 8 Assessment

School NameGrade# Students% Level 3 +12345
State Avg.08130,632463123251210
BROWN BARGE 084166727461010
RANSOM MIDDLE 081583736273142
BEULAH MIDDLE 081583046232074
FERRY PASS MIDDLE 082312552232041
JIM C. BAILEY 082212248291831
ERNEST WARD 08752136431911
WARRINGTON 081581553321230
BELLVIEW 082211365221011
J. H. WORKMAN 0818248214410
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