The Associated Press State & Local Wire (Florida) June 18, 2009

HEADLINE: Fla. schools improve state grades

By Bill Kaczor

By Florida's measure, a record percentage of the state's public schools are doing grade-A work, but by the federal government's reckoning they are failing miserably.

A record 62 percent of Florida's public schools received an A on their annual state report cards while the number that failed only 44 schools, or 1 percent was the lowest in three years, state education officials said Thursday.

But just 23 percent Florida schools or 785 of 3,354 made adequate yearly progress under the federal No Child Left Behind law. That's 1 percentage point less and seven schools fewer than last year.

The sharp difference stems from the different standards of measurement.

The state grades are based on the state's standardized student exam, the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT.

Officials say No Child Left Behind requires passing grades in each of about 30 different subgroups that account for factors such as race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, disability and English proficiency.

If a school falls short in just one subgroup results it fails to make adequate progress.

The schools' state report card grades have steadily improved since the A-to-F letter system was adopted in 1999 as part of then-Gov. Jeb Bush's "A-Plus" school accountability program.

Of 2,954 schools graded this year, 1,822, or 62 percent, received an A. That's 237 more than last year and left 17 percent earning a B, 14 percent scoring a C, 6 percent getting a D and only 1 percent failing with an F. The 44 failing schools were one less than last year.

Gov. Charlie Crist credited the results to "high quality teachers" and "the hard work taking place in our classrooms and the excellent learning environments provided by our schools."

The 2,043 schools that received an A or raised their grades by at least one letter 69 percent of the total will reap rewards of $75 per student.

As the grades were released, Democrats criticized the system for relying exclusively on FCAT scores.

"Public school accountability and progress should be based on the whole body of work that schools, teachers and students accomplish throughout the year rather than on a one-day snapshot," said Florida House Democratic Leader Franklin Sands of Weston.

High school grades next year will be partly based on other factors such as graduation rates under a law passed last year. Sands said more should be done to broaden the criteria.

He also praised students and teachers for the results but noted Florida's graduation rate ranked among the nation's lowest in a recent study published by Education Week Magazine.