Tallahassee, Florida- July 23, 2012

213 schools in Florida have gotten a pleasant surprise.

Their school grade has been recalculated and they moved up one grade.

Grades for schools in forty counties have been recalculated higher. 116 schools moved from a B to an A, 7 from an F to a D.

The changes have superintendents across the state scratching their heads. The State Board of Education earlier this year lowered standards for the FCAT writing test because too many children did poorly. Leon County School Superintendent Jackie Pons says the latest revisions are proof the state needs to set a standard and stick with it.

The change affected eight percent of the schools in the state.
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Tallahassee, Florida-July 20, 2012

Today the Florida Department of Education notified 40 superintendents around the state about preliminary revisions to the initial school grades released earlier this month. The A to F school grades report for Florida’s elementary, middle and combination schools (not including those with high school grades) was calculated by the department, validated independently by Florida State University, and released July 11.

During the continuous review process, the department identified preliminary revisions for both schools and districts that will result in increases. The revisions involved 213 of the initially graded 2,586 schools as follows:

· 116 school grades changed from a B to an A.

· 55 school grades changed from a C to a B.

· 35 school grades changed from a D to a C.

· 7 school grades changed from an F to a D.

The impact of these preliminary revisions to the initial school grades will result in the following changes to nine initial district grades.

· Collier will increase from a B to an A.

· Desoto will increase from a D to a C.

· Gadsden will increase from a D to a C.

· Hillsborough will increase from a C to a B.

· Okeechobee will increase from a D to a C.

· Osceola will increase from a C to a B.

· Palm Beach will increase from a B to an A.

· Pasco will increase from a C to B.

· Union will increase from a B to an A.

These changes were identified during the review process that occurs between the time initial school grades are released and final school grades are published after an appeals process has been completed. This phase of the school grading process, which involves district validation, is important because it provides transparency and helps ensure the final grades are correct.

“School grades are important to students, parents, teachers, principals, administrators and the community,” stated Commissioner of Education Gerard Robinson. “And, while I am pleased that the continuous review process has resulted in better grades, we will continue to look for ways to improve the grade calculation process.”

The department informs districts of anticipated changes to initial school grades as they are identified throughout this phase of the process to assist them in local planning decisions pending the release of the final school grades, which will occur during the first week in September.

“The fact that eight percent of school grades will increase not only affirms the hard work of Florida’s students, teachers and district leadership, it demonstrates the value of the continuous review process,” said Commissioner Robinson. “The strength of our accountability system depends on the partnership between school districts and the department, and these revisions are a direct result of that process.”