Politics
Nathan Hoffman: Florida can’t coast on yesterday’s education gains
Florida spent years leading the country in student outcomes. The outside rankings reflected this reality. Today, we still tout Florida’s success, but there’s just one problem: Our students’ performance no longer reflects that story.
A new report from the Foundation for Florida’s Future offers a sobering look at what has happened to Florida’s education gains. The state became a national leader after implementing high academic standards, transparent school grades and a greater focus on student achievement. Between 1996 and 2011, Florida fourth graders gained 24 points in math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
Then the progress stalled. Between 2011 and 2019, Florida students stagnated or declined in most NAEP grade-and-subject combinations. In the 2024 results, the state’s fourth-grade reading performance fell to its lowest level since at least 2003. Eighth-grade reading reached its lowest point on record, and eighth-grade math fell to its worst level since 1996.
Florida’s past success matters because it tells us something important: Improvement wasn’t inevitable. It happened because state leaders were willing to set high expectations, measure whether students were meeting them and hold schools accountable for the results.
Other states are showing that this approach still works. Mississippi’s average fourth-grade reading score now edges Florida’s. Louisiana has made one of the nation’s strongest recoveries in fourth-grade reading.
Florida should want to regain its place among national education leaders when it comes to student outcomes. I’ve seen what education reform can accomplish in this state. The question now is whether we’re willing to embrace the policy solutions that will get us there again.
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Nathan Hoffman is senior legislative director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future.
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