Florida Republicans give high marks to freshman U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, who rocketed to national prominence following his win over then-Gov. Charlie Crist during the 2010 election cycle, and offered a solid grade for Gov. Rick Scott.

The poll, conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Voter Survey Service (VSS), found that 77 percent of likely Florida Republican presidential primary voters see Rubio as favorable, while only 10 percent see him as unfavorable. Twelve percent of those surveyed have no opinion about Rubio.

Online students at Florida Virtual School outperformed their traditional-school peers on Advanced Placement tests in 2011, and at less cost, new studies show.

Florida Virtual School reported scores that averaged 12 percentage points higher than conventional high schools on the 2011 AP exams. The Internet-based school offered 15 AP courses to 3,053 students, an 18 percent increase from the previous year.

A Sunshine State News Poll of likely Republican presidential primary voters finds a large chunk of them -- 42 percent -- remain undecided in choosing a candidate to take on Democrat incumbent U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, but those who have a preference are breaking heavily toward U.S. Rep. Connie Mack.

Mack, whose father held the Senate seat for two terms, takes 40 percent in the poll, conducted by Harrisburg, Pa.-based Voter Survey Service (VSS) and has a sizable lead over the rest of the pack of Republican hopefuls.