One Pinellas County elementary school caught the governor’s attention for all the progress it’s made using a program that’s similar to what will be replacing the FSA test — progress monitoring.

Gov. Ron DeSantis acknowledged Lakewood Elementary School in a press conference when he announced the end of the FSA test. The school used progress monitoring to raise its grade from “F” to “A.”

Lynn Price teaches the 5th grade at Lakewood Elementary, where data is used to show students exactly where they stand, and exactly what their strengths and weaknesses are.

“This data is not subjective data. It’s very hard data, it’s their abilities. It’s not me saying, ‘Oh they can do that, check, they can do that.’ Those scores directly relate to their abilities and how they’re progressing in class,” said Price. 

The state hasn’t said how progress monitoring will play out next year, but at Lakewood, the principal says students take tests three times a year. The results are shared with their teachers and their parents, so they know which areas need improvement. Progress is tracked on individual students in the classroom, and overall as a school.

“It’s encouraging, and it’s motivating, and it allows any student, or any teacher, who walks in during the school year to see where we stand and to ask questions and say, 'What can I do to help? Which kids need more assistance? How can help that particular teacher or grade level?'” said Lakewood Elementary School Prinicipal Renee Nellenbach.

Students in Ms. Price’s class say they like knowing what they need to work on. “I went down on this one, I went up, it’s like a rollercoaster, so I went down, up, down, I was just studying a lot,” said Da’Maria Hicks, a student.

And they really like seeing their hard work pay off. “It helped me just work on things I need to work on, and it motivates me to grow,” said Qihonstiee, a student.