School Grades provide an easily understandable way to measure the performance of a school. Parents and the general public can use the school grade and its components to understand how well each school is serving its students. Schools are graded A, B, C, D, or F.
A School's Grade May Include up to Eleven Components: There are four achievement components, four learning gains components, a middle school acceleration component, as well as components for graduation rate, and college and career acceleration. Each component is worth up to 100 points in the overall calculation. The number of points earned for each component are added together and divided by the total number of available points to determine the percentage of points earned.
Four Achievement Components: The four achievement components are English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. These components include student performance on statewide, standardized assessments, including the comprehensive assessments and end-of-course (EOC) assessments. The component measures the percentage of full-year enrolled students who achieved a passing score.
Four Learning Gains Components: These components are learning gains in English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as learning gains for the lowest performing 25% of students in English Language Arts and Mathematics. These components include student performance on statewide, standardized assessments including the comprehensive assessments and EOC assessments for the current year and the prior year. The components measure the percentage of full-year enrolled students who achieved a learning gain from the prior year to the current year.
Middle School Acceleration: This component is based on the percentage of eligible students who passed a high school level EOC assessment or industry certification.
College and Career Acceleration: This component is based on the percentage of graduates from the graduation rate cohort who earned a score on an acceleration examination (AP, IB, or AICE) or a grade in a dual enrollment course that qualified students for college credit or earned an industry certification.
Graduation Rate: The graduation rate is based on an adjusted cohort of ninth grade students and measures whether the students graduated within four years. Since graduation rates are calculated at the end of the year, this component is a lag measure and uses the prior year's graduation rate for the current year's school and district grade calculation.
Minimum Number of Students for Inclusion in Florida's Accountability System: A school receives a grade based solely on the components for which it has sufficient data. Sufficient data exists when at least 10 students are eligible for inclusion in the calculation of the component. If a school has less than 10 eligible students with data for a particular component, that component is not calculated in the school's grade. See Section 1008.34(3)(a), Florida Statutes for more details.
For information on school grades, see the School Grades Overview and the Guide to Calculating School Grades, District Grades, and Federal Percent of Points Index.