The Florida Department of Education has released their most recent set of grades for both school districts and individual schools, after a delay of several months.
Superintendents across Florida has asked lawmakers to delay the unveiling of these new school grades until June, fearing more rigorous standards would produce more F school grades, destroying teacher and student morale.
Both entire school districts and their individual schools are graded on an A-F scale.
Hillsborough, Citrus and Sarasota school districts all received the highest grade of an A.
Pasco, Pinellas, Hernando and Manatee all received a B.
The Polk County School District received an overall grade of a C. Despite that, Polk's superintendent said she was pleased with the results.
“We had 43 schools improve dramatically, and that is the biggest improvement we’ve seen in the last five years,” LeRoy said in an emailed statement to the media. “Our school leadership, teachers and students are amazing."
Manatee County raised its overall District Grade to a “B” for the first time since 2011. The Manatee District received a “C” grade from the state each of the previous three school years. However, their superintendent still has concerns about the FSA.
“I am happy for our students, teachers and administrators that we achieved a B grade as a school district, however the scores released today still do not alleviate concerns I have expressed before about changes to the state’s accountability system and the fact that the grades released today do not include any acknowledgment of learning gains,” said Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene. “We are now fully focused on this year’s accountability testing which begins in a few short weeks. While we accept the grades released today, we are looking forward to the work that needs to be done to help all of our children succeed to their ultimate potential.”
Pinellas County Schools improved its district letter grade to a B for the first time since 2011 and saw an increase in schools receiving an A or B and a decrease in schools receiving a D or F letter grade from the state, the district said in a press release. The district’s B grade was two percentage points shy of an A, a district spokesperson said.
Students are set to take this year's FSA at the end of the month.
