Florida lawmakers weigh school grading reform to reflect real student outcomes
The Schools Committed to Outstanding Results and Excellence, or SCORE, Act (HB 1483), sponsored by Rep. Susan Valdes, R-Tampa, would move the Florida Department of Education's A-F grading scale to match the usual percentages used for grading student performance in school. The shift would take place over a 10-year period.
During a PreK-12 Budget Subcommittee meeting in the Florida House of Representatives on Monday afternoon, Valdes said there were about 260 schools that are graded an A where less than 50% of the students are meeting grade-level benchmarks.
"So that means that there's some students that we're not capturing, that we're still not wrapping our arms around them with their needs in order for them to prosper," Valdes said.
Currently, a school's rating is based on different criteria, including graduation rates and English language arts, math and science exams. But an elementary school but can still get an A even if the school receives a 62% achievement score from the state's Department of Education, for example. Such a percentage normally would be deemed a "D."
The SCORE Act would, over a decade, shift those percentages to match the traditional grading scale, so that by the 2033-34 school year, schools graded an A would have to achieve at least a 90%. According to a staff analysis, 1,299 schools – or 38% – were given an A grade in 2024.
Rep. Erika Booth, R-St. Cloud, acknowledged the change in school grade percentages would be "hard for a community to absorb."
"But wouldn't you rather know? Wouldn't you rather know that you're driving your beautiful child to a school that is actually a C grade, instead of patting yourself on the back and thinking that you've school-choice'd into an A-rated school?" Booth asked during debate.
"Don't put an A in the window of a school when it's actually at 60% and tell me to be happy about it, whether I'm a teacher, a parent or community leader," she added.
Rep. Allison Tant, D-Tallahassee, said this could pose a problem for turnaround schools, like Jefferson County K-12 in her district. The Jefferson County School District was taken over by the state after years of being rated as a failing district. Almost a quarter of the county's residents live in poverty, according to U.S. Census data.
"How are we making sure that in this grading system we're also bringing those kids that aren't similarly resourced to some of their peers, (that) don't have anybody reading to them at home, are hungry, maybe come to school with health issues. How are we addressing that?" she asked Valdes during the subcommittee meeting.
Valdes said the bill also expands the interventions provided for children who do not perform on grade level from VPK to eighth grade. It also expands the eligibility for the summer bridge program for VPK and creates a grant program for classroom libraries in Title I schools.
The bill passed 12-2, with Tant and Rep. Jervonte Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach, opposed.
The House bill heads to the Education & Employment Committee, its fourth committee of reference. There is no Senate version. The legislative session is scheduled to end May 2.
Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at agonilessan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: School grading overhaul aims to reveal true student achievement gaps
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