When compared with K-12 schools across the country, Florida made strides in some subjects and grade levels but fell behind in others, according to the results of a nationwide standardized test known as "The Nation's Report Card."
The National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, is the only test that compares states' math, reading, science and writing proficiency, measuring student performance in fourth, eighth, and 12th grade.
On the test conducted in 2024, fourth-graders in Florida outperformed their peers across the nation on math, reading, science and writing, and eighth-graders also scored higher in writing.
However, Florida eighth-graders scored lower on math and reading, and 12th-graders fell behind in math compared with their peers across the U.S.
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Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas said he's frustrated that these scores don't measure the performance of the state's school choice program. Private and homeschool students don't have to take the test.
"Those students are not being tested, and they tend to be higher-performing students because there's a lot more parental engagement and involvement. And so states like Florida are at a disadvantage," said Kamoutsas.
As of January, more than 524,000 students were attending a private school on a scholarship, and more than 155,000 are being homeschooled, according to the department. All of these families can opt out of the test.
"If there's a way to encourage greater numbers so that that's captured, I think you're going to see states who are pushing for school choice continue to do better on the NAEP exam," said Kamoutsas.
The commissioner's response came during an educational policy roundtable hosted by the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation. That organization ranked Florida first on its annual report card of schools, in part due to the focus on school choice.
Jonathan Butcher, acting director for the Center for Education Policy at the foundation, said one of the main reasons Florida performed well is the state's comprehensive school choice program.
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A state law passed in 2023 opened up the voucher program in the state to every student when it did away with most eligibility requirements. Since then, more Florida students attend a school of choice rather than their neighborhood public school, according to Step Up for Students, which administers the scholarships.
The Heritage Foundation's national assessment put an emphasis on not only the number of school choice options each state offers, but also how many students are utilizing them.
"The reason that matters for us is because some of the most rigorous research that's been performed on private school choice demonstrates that it benefits students in the area of student outcomes," said Butcher.
Across the country, eighth-graders' science and 12th-graders' math and reading scores dropped from the 2019 NAEP scores.
A number of factors including chronic absenteeism, a nationwide teacher shortage, and a COVID learning slump have been blamed.
Click here to see the Florida student profile for NAEP scores.
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