Florida Department of Education releases school grades in new system

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Education on Monday released school grades for the 2022-2023 academic year, providing a first look at performance under a new “progress monitoring” system of testing.

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Education officials said “no negative consequences” would come from what the department called “informational baseline grades” from the first year of the exams.

“A school or provider which receives the same or lower grade in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22 is not subject to sanctions or penalties that would otherwise occur,” the department said in a news release.

In the past, school grades were used for such things as requiring low-performing schools to enter into what are known as “turnaround plans.”

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The department said schools that earned higher scores in 2022-2023 than in the previous year “may receive the benefits of an increased school grade by qualifying for school recognition (funding) or exiting turnaround status.”

The Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved the new testing system last year.

The system involves administering exams to students three times, in the beginning, middle and end of the academic year, with the final exam slated to be used for accountability purposes, such as school grades.

This academic year is the first that the exams will be used for such purposes.

For the full report, click here.

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