"Fourth grade reading and math scores, first in the nation. Eighth grade reading, first. High school AP classes and college education, both ranked first in the nation."
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Florida scores aren’t first: The facts about Rick Scott’s education ad
Gov. Rick Scott says in a new ad for his Senate campaign that he likes it when "Florida is first."
"Fourth grade reading and math scores, first in the nation," Scott says in the ad. "Eighth grade reading, first. High school AP classes and college education, both ranked first in the nation. And now, our highest education funding ever. I like it when Florida is first."
The only problem is that Florida isn’t first in most categories Scott talks about in the ad. The idea Florida has the "highest education funding ever" is also misleading. (We rated a similar version of that claim Half True.)
Wrapping up his second gubernatorial term, Scott, a Republican, has his eye on a Florida Senate seat this November. He’s up against Democratic incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson.
Reading and math scores
As evidence of Florida’s reading and math performance, Scott campaign spokeswoman Lauren Schenone sent us the 2017 National Assessment of Education Progress report and a governor’s office press release.
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We opened the links expecting to see a bunch of No.1 rankings for the Sunshine State. Instead, we found out that the 2017 NAEP data ranks Florida fifth in fourth grade reading, seventh in fourth grade math, and 25th in eighth grade reading.
"Florida is not No. 1 among any subject or in any grade," said Stephaan Harris, a spokesman for the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policy for the NAEP. "If you look at the categories, there are states that perform significantly higher, meaning there’s statistical significance that illustrates those states scored higher and had better performance."
The NAEP, a congressionally mandated project administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, is given to fourth, eighth and 12th graders in each state to evaluate their skills in several subject areas and compare them to the rest of the country.
The Scott campaign did not respond to a request for clarification.
Back in April, the governor’s office spun the results favorably, saying, "The results show that Florida is the only state to have improved significantly in grade 4 mathematics, grade 8 reading and grade 8 mathematics between 2015 and 2017."
Other states improved in fourth and eighth grade reading, as well, but Florida is technically the only state that improved across those three metrics specifically from 2015 to 2017.
However, as any student athlete MVP will tell you, "most improved" does not mean "first" or "best."
The scores had a bit of room to climb.
Florida’s eighth grade math scores aren’t leading the nation — 29 percent of students were at least proficient in 2017, compared to the national average of 33 percent. That was an improvement from 26 percent proficiency in 2015, which was significantly below the national average.
Florida’s average eighth grade reading score improved slightly from 2015 but was not significantly different than the 2017 national average.
Florida’s fourth grade reading scores were above the national average, not the best in the country.
AP performance
The ad additionally claims high school AP classes in Florida are ranked first in the nation. Scott didn’t say for what.
An education department’s 2017 press release was more specific, pointing to participation in AP exams and improved scores.
"Florida ranks first in participation in the AP exams during high school and third in the nation for improvement over the last decade," the release said.
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Compared to other states, Florida did have the highest percentage of 2017 graduates who took an AP exam during high school, according to the 2017 Florida AP Cohort data report.
"Florida in 2017 had the highest ‘Percentage of Graduates Who Took an AP Exam During High School’ when comparing Florida among the 50 states, which was 54.6 percent," Florida Department of Education spokeswoman Audrey Walden said.
However, when the numbers include 11th graders, Florida ranked fourth in AP exam participation per 1,000 11th and 12th graders in 2017, according to the College Board data about the number of students who took and passed at least one AP exam. Massachusetts, Maryland and Connecticut had more success.
Florida has improved its AP exam participation in the past decade. As more people take AP exams, however, overall success wavers. Florida had a 51.6 percent pass rate in 2017, lower than 42 other states.
College education
There is one bright spot for Scott’s ad: When it comes to college education, Scott’s claim that Florida is No. 1 holds up, according to the metrics of the 2018 U.S. News and World Report survey.
U.S. News put the state at the top of its 2018 "Best States for Higher Education" list, released in March.
U.S. News used metrics including the share of people in the state with college degrees, as well as the time it takes to complete two- and four-year college programs, tuition costs and fees state-by-state and debt after graduation.
Florida was No. 1 in the higher education category in 2017, as well.
Our ruling
Scott said, "Fourth grade reading and math scores, first in the nation. Eighth grade reading, first. High school AP classes and college education, both ranked first in the nation."
But Florida is not first in any of the reading or math categories assessed by a national exam administered to public school fourth and eighth graders. And while Florida has a high number of students taking AP exams, they are not the highest-scoring or even the highest-participating state when looking at all AP students in 2017, not just graduates.
Overall, Florida is ranked No. 1 in higher education, according to the 2018 U.S. News and World Report survey.
Scott’s claim shows a sign of promise but leaves a lot of room for improvement. In classroom terms, that’s a D-minus. On the Truth-O-Meter, it adds up to a Mostly False.
PolitiFact Rating: 
Our Sources
TV ad, Scott for Florida campaign, Sept. 11, 2018
Email exchange, Rick Scott campaign spokeswoman Lauren Schenone, Sept. 24, 2018
Phone and email interview, National Assessment Governing Board spokesman Stephaan Harris, Sept. 24, 2018
Email exchange, Florida Department of Education press secretary Audrey Walden, Sept. 25, 2018
Press release, Florida Governor’s Office, "Gov. Scott: Florida Students Lead the Nation in Reading and Mathematics," April 10, 2018
Press release, Florida Department of Education, "Florida continues to lead the nation in Advanced Placement exams and narrow the achievement gap," Feb. 22, 2017
The Nation’s Report Card, Florida state profile, accessed Sept. 24, 2018
PolitiFact, "Rick Scott says K-12, state university funding is highest in last six years," March 23, 2018
Orlando Sentinel, "Nation's report card: 'Something very good is happening in Florida,’" April 10, 2018
Orlando Sentinel, "Rick Scott's education ad misstates Florida's test success," Sept. 24, 2018
Orlando Sentinel, "Florida ranks 4th, again, for Advanced Placement success," Feb. 21, 2018
College Board, "College Report of AP Exams by State 2016-2017," Accessed Sept. 25, 2018
U.S. News, "Best States for Higher Education," March 2018
Miami Herald, "Florida ranks No. 1 in higher education, survey says. But K-12 still lags," March 7, 2018
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Florida scores aren’t first: The facts about Rick Scott’s education ad
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