School District maintains “A” grade
Lee County Public Schools earned an “A” grade for the second year in a row, despite statewide declines in district and school grades.
Out of the 73 Lee County schools receiving a grade, 62 received an “A” or “B” that’s 85% percent. So far this year, 50 schools in Lee County achieved an “A” grade. The grades released today only include elementary and middle schools. New components were added to the high school grading system for 2010, delaying the final release date for those grades until November, according to the Florida Department of Education.
Of the nine largest districts in Florida, Lee County has the highest percentage of “A” schools (69 percent) and highest percentage of “A” and “B” schools combined (85 percent). Lee County is the only district with no D or F schools.
For a complete school-by-school listing of grades, visit the web site (www.leeschools.net) the link is on the Main page under the News & Events section.
As you may know, many districts including Lee County brought concerns to the attention of the Florida Department of Education when the student scores from the 2010 Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test were released earlier this year. Many districts discovered what they believed to be out-of-the-norm changes in academic performance. Districts saw students who had been consistently performing at Level 4 or 5 drop to Level 1 or 2 in just one year.
The state had independent reviews of the results done, and the determination was the swings in academic performance were “consistent with historical norms.”
“I’m glad the state had the FCAT results reviewed, but we are still waiting for a concrete answer as to why there have been such widespread anomalies statewide,” said Dr. James Browder, Superintendent of Schools. “I think until this is explained in a definitive manner, people will question the results. I know our students, teachers and schools worked as hard last year as ever before and unfortunately that may not be reflected in the grades.”
“Since the FCAT was implemented, our students and schools have shown a steady rise academically, and I fully anticipate that trend to continue despite what the 2009/10 FCAT grades may or may not show across the state,” Dr. Browder said. “I only hope we avoid a similar situation this coming school year if we are going to have high stakes tests, we all have to be confident in the process, otherwise doubt will linger.”
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