The Florida Department of Education released school grades for 2015 Friday.
The scores are the first round of school grades based on a new formula calculated by the department this year. The scores are also the first round of letter grades the department has given since Florida transitioned to the Florida Standards Assessment, the Common Core-aligned test which replaced the FCAT last year.
The new formula to calculate school grades was changed substantially from 2014, focusing on student achievement components (English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies), learning gains (beginning in 2015-16), graduation rates, acceleration success (in both middle school and high school), and maintaining a focus on students who need the most support.
Each component is scored on a 100-point scale and then calculated into the overall 0-100 grade. The number of points earned for each component is added together and divided by the total number of available points to determine the percentage of points earned.
Because this year’s formula is significantly different from previous years’, the department says the grades from previous years aren’t comparable to this year’s scores.
Twenty-two of the state’s 67 districts received “A” letter grades, the highest grade possible on the A-F scale. Miami-Dade County School District, the state’s largest school district, received a “B” letter grade, while other large school districts like Hillsborough County and Palm Beach County received “A’s.”
Duval County School District, which serves the Jacksonville area, received a “B” rating. Orange County School District, which serves the Orlando area, received a “B” rating.
No school districts received an “F” rating, but Hamilton and Jefferson County School Districts (some of the state’s smallest) both received “D” letter grades. Only one district, Gadsden County, earned an “I” for “incomplete.”
Students must test 95 percent of their students in order to receive a letter grade.
According to the department, incomplete grades are given to districts if the if the data does not accurately represent the progress of the school or district. That could mean Gadsden County had less than 95 percent of its students take the FSA or if the testing circumstances were under investigation.
Education groups across the state seemed boosted by the release of the letter grades.
"These grades give us our first glimpse into how schools are performing during the transition to more rigorous academic standards and assessments,” said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future. “They are for informational purposes only, carrying no sanctions but rewarding those schools that we know produced good results for children this past year.”
Levesque said she was eagerly anticipating this year’s letter grades since it will give a “more complete” picture of school performance.
"School grades are the foundation for an accountability system that has driven Florida's remarkable academic improvements since 1999,” she continued. “It is why we continue to advocate for this sensible and transparent accountability system, and why our state leaders remain committed to it as Florida takes the next step in preparing our children for a successful future."
The next round of FSA testing begins in two weeks.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
