OCALA, FL (352today.com) – Students aren’t the only ones graded when it comes to schoolwork.  Schools statewide are also graded on their performance.  Let’s take a look at two of our local school districts, Alachua and Marion County Public Schools.

How Marion County is looking

In a press release from Marion County Public Schools (MCPS), grades are up in Marion County for both the district and several schools.  MCPS has raised its letter from a “C” to a “B” for the 2022-23 school year and has no failing schools.

In a news release, Kevin Christian, Director of Public Relations for MCPS, said five schools earned “A” grades including Dr. NH Jones and Eighth Street Elementary Schools, along with Ina A. Colen Academy, Madison Street Academy, and Ward-Highlands Elementary.

Christian said seven other schools improved at least one letter grade including Belleview Elementary (B), East Marion Elementary (C), Maplewood Elementary (B), McIntosh Area School (C), Belleview Middle (B), Lake Weir Middle (C), and Belleview High (B).

How Alachua County is looking

Jackie Johnson, Public Information Officer for Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), shared in a news release that the state’s “informational baseline” showed gains for most high-needs schools. Alachua, Idylwild, and Terwilliger Elementary Schools all raised their grades from a “D” to a “C” while Lake Forest went up from an “F” to a “D.”

Johnson says Metcalfe Elementary fell from a “D” to an “F.” However, she said that grade would not affect Metcalfe’s current ‘School Improvement’ status.

“No negative consequences shall result from these grades, as they are purely informational,” said Adam Miller, the state’s senior chancellor of the Florida Department of Education (FDOE), in an email to Florida’s superintendents. “However, a school may receive the benefits of these grades, in terms of qualifying for School Recognition and/or exiting turnaround status.”

According to a release from the district, 11 ACPS schools boosted their grades this year, four dropped and 20 remained the same, with 22 earning either an A or B grade. The district’s overall informational baseline grade for 2023 is a B.

How the school grades are determined

School grades, according to a news release from MCPS Director of Public Relations, Kevin Christian, are “based on student performance on Florida’s new Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) standards. Following the transition to the B.E.S.T. standards, FDOE developed a new test, Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST), a progress monitoring system providing teachers, students and parents real-time, immediate and actionable data at the beginning, middle and end of the school year to drive student improvement.”

|FULL SCHOOLS REPORT: Want to see the results for other schools and school districts? View the full report here.