Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Friday that a majority of Florida students are now meeting or exceeding grade-level benchmarks, marking the highest proficiency levels recorded since the state scrapped its old end-of-year standardized exams in 2022.

According to data released at a Lakeland press conference, more than 60% of Florida students are performing at or above grade level in English Language Arts, math, and other core subjects under the state’s progress-monitoring testing system.

English Language Arts proficiency has climbed to 61% over the past four years, up from 49% when the progress-monitoring model was first introduced. Math proficiency rose to 62%, a 9-percentage-point jump from the 53% rate recorded in the 2023 assessment.

Florida Department of Education Commissioner Stasi Kamoutsas said the gains extended across every student subgroup tracked by the state. In English Language Arts, proficiency rose five percentage points among English-language learners, African American students, Hispanic students, and economically disadvantaged students, while students with disabilities improved three percentage points.

In math, English-language learners gained six percentage points, Hispanic students improved four points, and both African American and economically disadvantaged students rose three points. Students with disabilities saw a two-point increase in math as well.

Beyond English and math, 60% of fifth graders showed proficiency in science and 74% in biology. In social studies, 76% of students scored at or above grade level in civics and 73% in U.S. history. The state also reported a record graduation rate of 92% for the 2024-2025 school year.

Roughly 150,000 more students are now meeting or exceeding expectations in English Language Arts compared to four years ago, and about 115,000 more are performing at or above grade level in math compared to 2023 figures.

The progress-monitoring system replaced the Florida Standards Assessment after DeSantis signed legislation eliminating the old exams in 2022. Critics of the previous system said it only identified learning gaps at the end of the school year, leaving teachers no time to intervene. Under the new framework, students in grades 3-10 take English Language Arts assessments three times a year, while math assessments follow the same schedule for grades 3-8.

“The success is not ours,” DeSantis said at the announcement. “The success is that of the people on the ground doing this every day throughout schools in the state of Florida.”

Polk County School District Superintendent Fred Heid said the data gives teachers more timely information to adjust instruction. “It also gives our teachers the information they need to make quick changes in their classrooms and adjust their whole-group or small-group instruction, or individual supports for our students who require remediation or even enrichment,” Heid said.

State officials have not yet released individual school or district-level performance grades, nor confirmed exact testing schedules for the upcoming school year.

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