School Grades are in. This year Gadsden County School District received an “I.”
The Florida Department of Education released the grades for the 2022-2023 school year on Monday. The state is moving to a new progress monitoring system, Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST),
and since this is the first year, these grades are serving as an “informational baseline,” which will be used as the level schools and districts will measure against in the future.
Out of 67 school districts, only three received an “I” for their overall grade–meaning those they did not test enough students, or the state is reviewing the integrity of their test results. Those districts include Gadsden, Jefferson, and Madison counties.
Nonetheless, district officials did say one of the most noteworthy achievements comes from George Munroe Elementary School, which has made remarkable progress by moving from an initial F grade to a commendable C. Greensboro Elementary School has shown remarkable academic growth as well, elevating its grade from a B to an impressive A.
Chattahoochee Elementary School and West Gadsden Middle School have maintained their standing with a consistent grade of C, demonstrating each school’s ability to sustain positive performance and continue providing a quality education to its students.
Gadsden Elementary Magnet School, which has earned an A each year since 2004, dropped from an to a B.
Havana Magnet School and Gadsden County High School received “I” for incomplete, in place of a grade.
Stewart Street Elementary school earned an F.
“While acknowledging that there is still work to be done, the district is proud of the positive strides made by several schools, reflecting a commitment to continuous improvement and academic excellence,” the statement from Gadsden County School District says.
For the 2022-23 school year, grades were based on four achievement components (English, math, science and social studies), a middle school acceleration component, and components for graduation rate and college and career acceleration, according to the Florida Department of Education. These components are worth up to 100 points toward the overall calculation.
This year, however, grades only serve as baseline data and do not carry a penalty since the state transitioned to using progress monitoring instead of high-stakes testing. A school or provider which receives the same or lower grade in 2022-23 compared to 2021-22 is not subject to sanctions or penalties that would otherwise occur.
Florida was the first state in the nation to establish a system using progress monitoring instead of traditional high stakes testing.
Erin Hill – Gadsden County News Service