New state grading system delivers same marks for Jacksonville-area school districts
Duval County and school districts across Northeast Florida kept the same grades they received last year under a new state evaluation system that modestly shifted marks for some Jacksonville-area schools.
The Department of Education’s “informational baseline district grades” released Monday reflected results of a new testing system called Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST).
Being the first year, the state assured school administrators there would be no negative consequences for being graded lower than under the state’s old evaluation system, but those results will return next year.
“These school grades serve as a baseline for districts and provide a starting point for future achievement,” said Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. said in a release about the new grades. “I look forward to seeing schools rise to the occasion as they continue to provide Florida students a first-rate education.”
Duval and Baker counties remained “B” school districts while Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties held onto overall “A” grades.
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Duval County's superitendent, Dana Kriznar, expressed concern in June about achieving "positive change" after early results from initial FAST testing were circulated. The results released Monday reflect school-by-school scores from last school year.
State law required the new system to produce statistically equivalent mixes of school grades as the year before, but the ratings carried both rewards and disappointments for some Duval County schools.
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Including charters listed in the report, 42-two Duval County schools were graded "A" compared to 38 the year before, and the 22 "B" and 67 "C" schools were each two fewer than the year before. Eleven schools were graded "D" compared to 14 in the 2021-22 tally, but the count of "F" schools rose to five from two the prior year. Two had grades labeled incomplete.
Northwestern Legends Elementary slid from a “D” to an “F” and Annie R. Morgan Elementary fell from a “C” to an “F,” while Whitehouse Elementary, Chimney Lakes Elementary and Lone Star Elementary all vaulted from grades of “C” to “A.”
Westside Middle School and the Young Men’s/Women’s Leadership Academy at Eugene J. Butler declined from “C” grades in last year’s listings to “D” grades Monday while former grade-“B” Mandarin High School joined a growing roster of “A” high schools.
School grades in the new system can contain as many as seven components, but the number can vary. Each grade factors in achievement measures from scores on English, math, science and social studies, with measures of factors including the percentage of students enrolled all year who earned a passing score on a state test.
Middle schools are also evaluated on an “acceleration” measure that looks at students passing high school-level testing or earning some industry certification. High school grades include college and career acceleration measures as well as graduation rates.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: School district grades steady across Jacksonville area in new scores
