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Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas argues that state assessment results show student progress even as the state’s NAEP reading scores remain low. He points to gains on Florida’s progress-monitoring tests and defends the state’s school grading system, while saying parts of that system merit review.
Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas argues that the state’s school accountability system is showing student progress, despite low reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). In an opinion article published by The 74, he cites gains on Florida’s own assessments and defends its school grading rules, while acknowledging that parts of the system need review.
Kamoutsas says that since statewide progress monitoring began in the 2022–23 school year, 61% of students in grades 3 through 10 are on grade level in English language arts, while 62% of students in grades 3 through 8 are on grade level in mathematics. He reports that the shares rose by 12 percentage points in English and 9 points in mathematics. The article translates those changes into about 150,000 additional students in English language arts and 115,000 in mathematics; it does not provide the underlying student counts or a separate methodology for those estimates.
The commissioner contrasts those state results with NAEP, a national assessment that does not provide student- or school-level results. He acknowledges that Florida’s reading scores are at their lowest point this century and says the decline began before the pandemic. He also notes that in 2024 no state had a statistically significant gain in fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade reading or eighth-grade mathematics. Florida’s fourth-grade mathematics score rose from 2022 to 2024 and ranked among the country’s highest, he writes, statistically indistinguishable from Massachusetts.
Kamoutsas also defends Florida’s school grades, which combine measures including achievement, learning gains and graduation rates. He says state law does not allow grades to be adjusted away from the points schools earn. The article says high schools face the system’s highest-ever threshold for an A rating this year, but does not give the exact cutoff or school-level results.
How Florida Measures School Progress
The dispute matters because school ratings shape public understanding of student performance and can inform decisions by families, educators and policymakers. NAEP offers a common national benchmark, while Florida’s assessments are aligned to the material the state teaches and, according to the commissioner, give schools information during the school year. Those measures answer different questions and do not produce directly interchangeable results.
Kamoutsas argues that state testing gives educators more actionable information because it reports performance during the year and can be broken out for students and schools. But state-reported gains do not, on their own, resolve concerns about low national reading results or prove that every student is on track. The reliability and meaning of the measures—and how school grades identify schools needing support—remain central to the accountability debate.
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State Tests and NAEP Differ
Florida replaced Common Core with its Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking standards and introduced corresponding assessments, according to the opinion. The state also moved from a single end-of-year test to progress monitoring conducted three times a year. Kamoutsas presents these changes as part of a system intended to measure learning against Florida’s curriculum and give teachers and families information during the year.
NAEP, by contrast, is designed to compare performance across states rather than report individual student or school results. The article notes that NAEP’s “Proficient” category describes competency over challenging material and is not the same as a state’s definition of grade-level performance. Kamoutsas says treating the two standards as equivalent creates a misleading comparison. His defense responds to concerns about Florida’s accountability record, including an earlier essay by former Gov. Jeb Bush, which the commissioner references but does not detail in full.
““A single end-of-year test” was replaced with progress monitoring that gives teachers, families and students information they can use during the year.”
— Kamoutsas, describing the state’s approach to testing
Questions About the Measures
The opinion does not include the underlying assessment tables, student counts or detailed methods behind its estimates of additional students on grade level. It also does not provide exact school-grade thresholds, the number of schools affected by the higher high-school A cutoff, or evidence that directly compares the state progress-monitoring results with student-level NAEP performance.
It remains unclear how Florida’s reported gains correspond to longer-term learning outcomes, and how the state’s grading system identifies schools that require support. Kamoutsas says the system’s automatic escalation of grading thresholds deserves serious review. The article is an argument from the state’s education commissioner, not an independent evaluation of the assessments or accountability rules.
Reviewing Florida’s Grading Rules
Kamoutsas calls for continued examination of the system’s grading escalator, high-school grades and acceleration measures, including whether they continue to identify schools that need support. The opinion does not announce a specific review process, timetable or policy change. The next developments will depend on whether state officials or lawmakers act on those concerns and on the publication of further assessment and school-grade results.
Key Questions
What is the main development in the article?
Florida Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas published an opinion defending the state’s accountability system and citing progress-monitoring gains, while acknowledging weak NAEP reading results and the need to review parts of school grading.
What gains does the commissioner report?
He says that since progress monitoring began in 2022–23, the share of students on grade level rose by 12 percentage points in English language arts for grades 3–10 and 9 points in mathematics for grades 3–8.
Why does the opinion compare Florida tests with NAEP?
NAEP provides a national comparison, while Florida’s assessments are aligned to state standards and can produce student- and school-level information. The commissioner argues the two measures serve different purposes and should not be treated as equivalent.
Does the commissioner say Florida’s accountability system needs no changes?
No. He says the system’s grading escalator, high-school grades and acceleration measures deserve review, even as he defends the state’s reported assessment gains.
What remains unknown?
The opinion does not provide detailed underlying data or explain how the state’s gains compare with longer-term learning outcomes. It also gives no timetable for a review of the grading system.
Source: the74million.org
