New, broader rules approved for Florida's school-grading systemChanges will affect only high schoolsLeslie Postal
Sentinel Staff Writer
September 15, 2009
State education leaders Tuesday approved the biggest change to Florida's school-grading system since it started more than a decade ago.
The new plan will use more than just FCAT scores to assign A-to-F grades to high schools.
From now on, FCAT will count for only 50 percent of a high school's grade, with the rest of coming from its success with student graduation rates, student participation in advanced courses (such as AP and dual-enrollment classes) and student success on college-readiness tests such as ACT and SAT.
The plan has been in the works for more than a year, since the Florida Legislature passed a law in 2008 requiring that high schools be graded on more than FCAT.
"Florida high schools will be judged based on the achievement of their students .ƒ|.ƒ|." said state Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, the sponsor of the law, who spoke at the board's meeting in Miami.
There is nothing wrong with the FCAT, Gaetz said, but it tests only about half the kids in a high school in any year, so FCAT scores provide an "incomplete analysis" of how schools are doing.
The law, and the system DOE devised to implement it, are meant to require more of state schools and students, Gaetz added.
"This is the beginning of the beginning to make sure we raise standards for Florida students," he added.
The 2008 law impacts only high schools. Elementary and middle schools will continue to be graded only on FCAT.
Plans for the sweeping new system initially had high-school educators excited as they thought their campuses might shine if the grades looked beyond FCAT scores. But an early simulation showed many would do worse under a new system.
Revisions made since then, however, would result in fewer schools earning A's but most campuses staying the same.
Based on a simulation of the new plan using 2008 data, Boone High in Orlando, would keep it's A, but Apopka High would drop from a B to a C.
Hillsborough Superintendent MaryEllen Elia told the board she supported the new rule.
The new system approved by the state Board of Education means final high school grades will not be ready by summer, when Florida's annual school report card is typically released. That is because some elements of the new plan, like graduation rates, won't be calculated by then.
Leslie Postal can be reached at
lpostal@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5273.
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