Florida releases A-to-F school grades but with no punishment for bad marks

Florida released its annual A-to-F school report card Monday, but this year bad marks carry no negative consequences for schools because the state transitioned to a new series of standardized exams and could not fully run grade calculations.

But the grades still carry bragging rights, which would go to Miami-Dade County. It was the only district in South Florida, as well as the only large district in the state, to be A-rated this year.

Palm Beach County, which has been consistently A-rated in recent years, received a B.

Also receiving a B was Broward, which has been B-rated since 2012 but has made it a goal to improve to an A. The scores are for the 2022-23 school year.

Although Broward Superintendent Peter Licata said the test results show improvement for Broward, this year’s formula doesn’t include learning gains since it’s largely based on the first year of new assessments, called the Florida Assessment of Student Thinking.

“I think we need to keep the momentum and continue to make improvements, and we could become an A district,” Licata said. “The state has also raised the bar a little more.”

School grades, first issued in 1999, are based on student performance on state math and reading tests. Schools that improved a grade or maintained an A are eligible, as usual, for extra money from the state, but those with Ds and Fs will not face state oversight or the threat of a state takeover.

“These school grades serve as a baseline for districts and provide a starting point for future achievement,” said Education Commissioner Manny Diaz in a statement. “I look forward to seeing schools rise to the occasion as they continue to provide Florida students a first-rate education.”

The state’s grading formula needs two years of data to be fully calculated, as it looks at both one-year performance and growth from the past year. Because the state does not yet have two years of data from the FAST, its newest standardized test, it could not calculate the “learning gain” portion of the school grading formula this year.

By state law, it also had to issue grades during this transition year that mirrored those issued after the 2021-22 school year. So in both school years, 32% of schools got As, 25% got Bs, 37% got Cs, 5% got Ds and 1% got Fs.

School grades were released later than usual this year because the state had to set a scoring system for the new FAST exams. The State Board of Education did that in October, adopting a plan that likely will mean slightly fewer students pass than they did on the past on FSA, the exam FAST replaced.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.