Natural Bridge Elementary School - 2024-2025 FAST Results Analysis

The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) serves as a benchmark tool to gauge student proficiency in core academic areas, specifically English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics. At Natural Bridge Elementary School in North Miami, the 2024–2025 FAST results provide a revealing snapshot of student performance, areas of strength, and challenges that require immediate attention.

This analysis dissects the school’s outcomes, compares performance by grade and subject, and highlights strategies proposed for future academic improvement.

Overall Participation and Performance

A total of 179 students participated in the FAST assessments for both Mathematics and English Language Arts.

Mathematics: 103 students performed at or above grade level.

English Language Arts: 89 students performed at or above grade level.

While both subjects show promising participation, mathematics demonstrated stronger proficiency rates compared to ELA.

Performance by Grade and Subject

Grade 3

ELA: 56% of students met the standard.

Math: 54% of students met the standard.

Grade 3’s results reflect a fairly balanced yet modest performance, with math slightly lower than ELA. Both subjects hover just above the halfway mark, signaling the need for targeted early interventions.

Grade 4

ELA: 42% of students met the standard.

Math: 57% of students met the standard.

Grade 4 ELA emerges as a key concern, with less than half of the students meeting the standard—the lowest ELA proficiency rate across grades. In contrast, Grade 4 Math showed a stronger outcome, with nearly 6 out of 10 students meeting expectations.

Grade 5

ELA: 51% of students met the standard.

Math: 62% of students met the standard.

Grade 5 consistently outperformed the lower grades. Mathematics was particularly strong, with nearly two-thirds of students meeting the standard. This positioned Grade 5 Math as the best-performing subject-grade combination across the school.

Comparative Insights

When comparing across grades and subjects:

• Mathematics outpaces English Language Arts overall.
• Math proficiency averages 58% across grades.
• ELA proficiency averages 50% across grades.

Grade-level variations:

• Grade 5 Math (62%) stands as the peak performance.
• Grade 4 ELA (42%) is the lowest performance point.

Consistency in middle performance: Grade 3 students in both subjects remain near the mid-50s, neither excelling nor struggling as much as Grade 4 ELA.

School-Wide Proficiency Overview

Looking at broader performance levels:

• Level 1: 28% of students, requiring substantial academic support.
• Level 2 and 3: A large portion of the student population, on the cusp of proficiency but needing reinforcement.
• Level 4: Solid performance across 21% of students.
• Level 5: Only 18% of students fully met grade-level standards.

This underscores significant room for growth, with more than half of students not yet solidly proficient.

Recommendations for Improvement

• Diagnostic Assessments: Conduct beginning-of-year diagnostics to offset summer learning loss.
• Diverse Assessments: Introduce varied, state-test-aligned strategies, including timed and tech-enhanced formats.
• Individualized Study Plans: Tailor study approaches to each student’s needs.
• Teacher Development: Provide professional development to deepen understanding of FAST and refine teaching practices.

Projected Impact:

• Student practice can improve proficiency by 10–15%.
• Teacher training can potentially boost outcomes by up to 21 percentile points.

Conclusion

The 2024–2025 FAST results for Natural Bridge Elementary present a mixed picture: Mathematics shows encouraging results, particularly in Grade 5, while English Language Arts—especially Grade 4—emerges as a pressing concern.