The Monroe County School District announces the release of the 2015-2016 preliminary school and district grades as reported by the Florida Department of Education. The 2015-2016 school and district grades represent the first year where the revised school accountability system takes full effect with the inclusion of a new “learning gains” component that is designed to ensure that all students are making progress toward improved achievement as measured by the Florida Standards Assessments/Florida Statewide Assessments in English Language Arts (grades 3-10), Mathematics (grades 3-8), Science (grades 5 & 8) and end-of-course assessments in Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, Biology, Civics, and United States History.

Monroe County appears tied for 12th in the preliminary district rankings, an upward movement of two places from 2014-2015. However, Monroe received a preliminary “B” rating as the revised system resulted in 32 districts (48%) falling a letter grade. 19 of the 22 districts (86%) that earned an “A” rating in the 14-15 baseline results dropped to a “B” leaving only St. Johns, Okaloosa, and Sarasota counties as “A” rated districts. Only one district (Gadsden) improved its rating in the new system. Monroe’s performance was particularly strong in Science (ranked 5th), Math learning gains (6th), Math learning gains for struggling learners (6th), and Social Studies (11th). Continued attention needs to be paid to high school graduation rates and acceleration opportunities at the middle school and high school level.

At the school level, eight of sixteen schools received an “A” rating (Big Pine Academy, Coral Shores High School, Key West Montessori, Ocean Studies Charter, Plantation Key School, Sigsbee Charter, Sugarloaf School, and Treasure Village Montessori), six a “B” rating (Gerald Adams Elementary, Horace O’Bryant School, Key Largo School, Key West High School, Key West Collegiate Academy, and Marathon School), and two a “C” (Poinciana Elementary and Stanley Switlik Elementary). Key West Collegiate Academy was the lone school in Monroe to improve its rating moving to a “B” from a “C”, while Poinciana and Stanley Switlik saw their rating decrease. Across the state 31 percent of schools dropped at least one letter grade while only 12 percent improved their standing.

The biggest difference in the accountability system in 2015-2016 is the inclusion of a new way of calculating what counts as a learning gain. This component was omitted from baseline grades in 2014-2015 as it was the first year for the administration of the more rigorous Florida Standards Assessments. The new learning gains calculation requires that all students continue to show movement toward mastery of content standards and that students that are below satisfactory performance make larger gains in order to reach that benchmark.

Superintendent Mark Porter stated, “Congratulations to our “A” rated schools and thank you to all of our staff members for their hard work on behalf of students in the Monroe County Schools. School and District grades are just one measurement of the work that we do with our students to prepare them for success. The results reflect the progress made through the hard work of our teachers and staff while also shining a light on areas where we may need to focus more attention and resources. The challenge continues to be moving all students forward in all of our schools.”

Additional information is available at the Florida Department of Education website at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org.