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School Performance
Public schools are evaluated on their success based upon the performance of their students. State and federal requirements include measuring student proficiency and achieving what is called Adequate Yearly Progress. Florida voters ordered an amendment to the state Constitution requiring smaller class sizes. Schools either demonstrating improvement or maintaining the highest rating are financially rewarded for that performance.
Why Is This Important?
School grades and the demonstration of Adequate Yearly Progress (from the federal No Child Left Behind Act) are the cornerstone of education accountability in Florida's public schools. They provide critical information on which schools are helping students master the skills they need to be successful in higher levels of education, in work, and in life. School grades identify the lowest performing schools – those that need extra assistance to improve and whose students are eligible for choice options – and recognize the highest performing schools as models of success.
Many educators have long held that large, unmanageable classes impaired their ability to serve the needs of their students. Smaller classes are thought to create an atmosphere where more individualized instruction is possible.
School recognition provides a financial incentive to achieve the next level of performance or to maintain a high level of performance. These funds can be used for faculty and staff bonuses, educational equipment and materials, or temporary personnel to assist in maintaining or improving student performance.
How Is Florida Doing?
More than three-fourths of all graded public schools received 'A' or 'B' grades in the 2009 grading calculation. Of thart total, 1,822 were designated as 'A' schools. This represents an increase of 19 percent over the past school years.
As expectations for school performance increase, Florida schools are rising to the occasion. The number of lowest performing schools (“F” schools) has decreased to 44 in 2009 from 83 in 2007, when standards were raised. What makes this exceptionally remarkable is that the standards were raised several times in previous years. Under lower standards, the number of lowest performing schools totaled 158 in 1995. During the previous five times standards rose, the schools and students have responded with measurably improved achievement after the first year. In 2007, the bar rose again. Science, learning gains of the lowest 25 percent in mathematics, and bonus points for Grade 11 and 12 FCAT retakes were included in the school grade calculation. from that point. The number of 'D' and 'F' schools has dropped by 27 percent over the past two school years.
More details are available at:
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0809/SGGuide2009.pdf
A school grade technical assistance paper can be found at:
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0809/2009SchoolGradesTAP.pdf
From 2002-03 (the first year Adequate Yearly Progress was calculated) through 2008-09, the number of Florida schools making AYP has increased from 529 to 785. Over the past two years, the number has remained nearly the same after a peak of 1,117 in 2004-05. During the same period, the percent of Florida schools making AYP has generally increased, from a low of 18 percent in 2002-03 to a high of 36 percent in 2004-05. Twenty-three percent of Florida schools made AYP in 2008-09 with increased annual proficiency standards for AYP – that is, the percent of students that must score at or above 'proficient' in reading and math in order to meet federal AYP requirements increases annually.
Detailed information on Florida's AYP calculation is available via the technical assistance paper at:
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/pdf/0809/2009AYPTAP.pdf
School, district, and state AYP results are available at:
http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/default.asp
The school recognition list for 2009 includes 2,103 schools and $122.5 million in awards.
Florida continues to work toward meeting the constitutional mandates of class-size reduction. In 2005-06, the last year in which district averages were used to measure class-size reduction, the state average for Grades PK-3 was 18.98 students per class, for an average reduction of 4.09 students per class compared to the prior year. For Grades 4-8, the state average class size in 2005-06 was 21.30, a reduction of 2.86 students per class compared to the prior year; and for Grades 9-12, the state average class size in 2005-06 was 23.65, a reduction of 0.45 students per class compared to the prior year. Florida is on pace to meet the mandated requirements by the designated year of 2010. Beginning in 2006-07, class-size reduction progress was measured at the school level. K-3 class size has dropped by 16.96 students per class to 15.95 students in 2008-2009. Grades 4-8 has seen a reduction from 19.42 to 18.6 according to the most recent figures. Grades 9-12 report an average size of 21.49 in 2008-2009, down from 22.19 two years before.
The class-size limits apply to classes in three grade ranges as follows:
Grade Range Maximum Number of Students Allowed in a Core Class by Fall 2010:
K–3: 18
4–8: 22
9–12: 25
More information about class size is available at:
http://www.fldoe.org/ClassSize/csavg.asp
Scorecard
What Influences School Performance?
A number of factors can influence school performance. Adequate funding, quality teachers and administrators, students willing to learn and the commitment of parents to their child's education can play roles in a school's performance.
What Is the State's Role?
The state's role in promoting school performance is to provide rigorous academic standards, promote effective instruction for our students, and encourage accountability for results at every level. The state also works in cooperation with the state's 67 school districts to meet government's obligation to provide a quality education for Florida students through substantial state funding and other services.
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