Patricia Levesque, Executive Director of the Foundation for Florida’s Future, issued a statement today in response to the Florida State Board of Education’s passage of Adjusted School Grade Calculations.
“We thank the State Board of Education for approving school grade calculations that increase the bar for Middle, High and Combination schools while holding the line on the Elementary school calculation," said Levesque. "The calculation moves Florida closer to a more accurate reflection of how well the public education system is doing in ensuring student success."
Levesque added, “An important part of Florida’s story of education success has been the state’s willingness to keep expectations high and demand results from the system. There’s a long way still to go, but we’re happy that Florida is back on track demanding more from our school system.”
In 2022, the legislature passed Senate Bill 1048, which amended the school grading system and required the Board of Education to review the school grading scale and make adjustments once learning gain data from the 2023-2024 school year became available. The legislation also provided for an automatic increase in the rigor of the scale if 75% of schools earn an “A” or “B” in a given school year.
The adopted 2023-2024 Elementary school grading scale remains unchanged from 2021-2022. However, Middle, High and Combination school grading scales now require an increased percentage of points needed to earn an A, B, C, and D by two points compared to 2021-2022.