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 Name | Grade | # Students | % Level 3 + | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| State Avg. | 08 | 130,632 | 46 | 31 | 23 | 25 | 12 | 10 |
| BROWN BARGE | 08 | 41 | 66 | 7 | 27 | 46 | 10 | 10 |
| RANSOM MIDDLE | 08 | 158 | 37 | 36 | 27 | 31 | 4 | 2 |
| BEULAH MIDDLE | 08 | 158 | 30 | 46 | 23 | 20 | 7 | 4 |
| FERRY PASS MIDDLE | 08 | 231 | 25 | 52 | 23 | 20 | 4 | 1 |
| JIM C. BAILEY | 08 | 221 | 22 | 48 | 29 | 18 | 3 | 1 |
| ERNEST WARD | 08 | 75 | 21 | 36 | 43 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| WARRINGTON | 08 | 158 | 15 | 53 | 32 | 12 | 3 | 0 |
| BELLVIEW | 08 | 221 | 13 | 65 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| J. H. WORKMAN | 08 | 182 | 4 | 82 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 0 |