And 10th-graders carry an additional burden. Starting this year they must pass the FCAT to graduate. LEP students in all grades are scoring below the average student statewide on the FCAT, with high school students performing the worst. Math and writing scores for LEP students reached the state's minimum levels, but still fell short of the averages for all students. Low scores from LEP students can contribute to a lower grade for an entire school, especially when the school has a high percentage of students learning English.
Test scores are the major factor the state uses to grade schools.
Manatee County has higher percentages of LEP students than Charlotte or Sarasota counties. Most of those students are in elementary schools. Last year, LEP pupils made up more than 10 percent of enrollment at 10 of Manatee's 26 elementary schools. The majority of those schools received C's from the state. But if schools choose to exempt students until they are likely to score higher, they take away chances for the children to practice taking the test.