Florida high schools are performing better than ever, according to the latest set of high school grades released by the state Wednesday, but this may be the last year the number of "A" schools remains at an all-time high.
Fourty eight percent, or 240, of Florida High Schools received an “A” grade according to the Florida Department of Education. The number of F-graded schools rose from three to eight. State Education Commissioner Pam Stewart says it’s going to be tougher next year for schools to earn A’s, because so many met the mark.
“The state board rule is that at the point where any particular grade type, in this case high schools, reaches 75 percent of its schools making A’s and B’s, the higher grade scale is implemented," she said during Wednesday's conference call with reporters.
In all, 82 percent of Florida high schools earned A’s or B’s.
The way high schools are graded will continue to get tougher in future years as well. The state is still transitioning to national education standards called Common Core. The standards are expected to be fully in place during the 2014-15 school year, with new tests tied to the standards in place soon after.
“We can expect that when we move to a harder assessment, initially, our students won’t perform as well. I think it’s fair to say that just as with this move in high school grading, we’re raising the bar," said Stewart.
Local High School Ratings:
1.Leon County LEON HIGH SCHOOL B JAMES RICKARDS HIGH SCHOOL C AMOS P. GODBY HIGH SCHOOL C SAIL A LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL B LAWTON CHILES HIGH SCHOOL A 2. Jefferson JEFFERSON COUNTY MIDDLE/HIGH SCHOOL F 3. Gadsden WEST GADSDEN HIGH SCHOOL F EAST GADSDEN HIGH SCHOOL C 4. Wakulla WAKULLA HIGH SCHOOL A
