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Manatee County reports drop in third-grade retentions after summer reading camp and FAST summer testing
Summary
The district says summer reading camp plus the summer administration of the FAST assessment reduced third-grade retentions to about 385 students (roughly 11%), down from about 16% at the end of the school year. District leaders credited explicit phonics instruction, endorsed teachers and daily FAST‑style practice.
The School District of Manatee County reported on Aug. 26 that summer reading programs and a summer administration of the FAST reading assessment reduced the districtthird‑grade retention rate to roughly 385 students, about 11% of third graders, down from approximately 16% at the end of the school year.
District elementary ELA leaders told the school board that the key change this summer was administering FAST (Florida’s progress-monitoring assessment) in July so the district could compare May and summer results on the same test. Allison Nichols, an elementary curriculum specialist who helped lead summer reading camp, said that apples‑to‑apples comparison made the program’s impact visible.
“Now we actually had apples to apples comparison from May at the end of the school…
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