Schools that received A's in Florida's latest round of school grades while serving large proportions of disadvantaged students tend to share at least one of two features in common: Either they're charter schools, or they're located in Miami-Dade County.

The state Department of Education released letter grades this morning based on public schools' achievement in the 2014-15 school year.

Because this is the first round of scores based on new state assessments, and there isn't enough data to calculate learning gains, the A-F ratings released this morning are considered a baseline for future years.

Some schools that serve large numbers of low-income students saw their grades fall. Those schools tend to earn higher marks for learning gains, which measure student progress from one year to the next, than they do for student proficiency. (more…)

Florida charter schools didn’t benefit as much as district schools from the school grades “safety net” that state education officials continued this summer.

According to Florida Department of Education data, 14.2 percent of the charter schools that have been graded so far would have dropped more than one letter grade had it not been for the safety net, which prevented schools from falling more than one letter grade. That compares to 21.7 percent of district schools.

In raw numbers, that’s 54 of 381 charter schools and 495 of 2,278 district schools. The numbers do not include school grades that are pending or incomplete.

Last month, the Florida Board of Education voted 4-3 to continue the safety net, which had been used in 2012, after superintendents complained that lower grades brought on by tougher standards would give the public a distorted view of student achievement. Tony Bennett, then the state education commissioner, initially expressed concerns about the safety net but later relented, saying it would help ease the transition to Common Core standards.

Bennett resigned two weeks later after news stories suggested he abruptly changed the school grades formula in Indiana to benefit a politically connected charter school.

As we reported last month, Florida charter schools again earned both A and F grades at higher rates than district schools.

Chartrand

Florida is a national leader in expanding school choice. And the state's new top education official doesn’t see the momentum slowing, especially with low-income children.

“The train has left the station on school choice,” Gary Chartrand, 58, told redefinED by phone this week - his first media interview since being elected chair of the Florida Board of Education on Friday.

“I often say that freedom is abundant in America but it’s not universal. When you’re stuck in a broken system, and you’re poor, and you’re full of despair, and you only have one choice, and that choice happens to be an F school, that’s not freedom. And so I think the school choice movement is bringing more freedom, especially to the most under served children in the state of Florida.”

Chartrand, a Jacksonville businessman, takes a leadership role at an especially sensitive time. Funding, already low compared to other states, has been stagnant. Common Core standards are around the corner. Teacher evaluations are in flux. Criticism of the state’s accountability system is as loud as it’s ever been (which, after the Jeb Bush years, is saying a lot.) And now the board is looking for its fifth education commissioner in eight years.

At the same time, Florida has been a pace setter in academic gains for most of the past decade. Those shaping state ed policy have no plans to ease up on the gas.

Chartrand touched on a number of issues in the interview, which is attached below. Some highlights:

On his priorities as chair:  “I am not proud of the fact that America is 17th in reading, 25th in math and 30th in science in the world. We used to be No. 1. And I believe that if this continues, we’ll undoubtedly lower our standard of living … And so I just have one goal: and that’s a quality education for all. We can do better. We must do better. We got to prepare our kids for a very rapidly changing world.”

On the best way to raise standards: “We’ve got to raise standards incrementally. I get a little concerned at times, and I always use the analogy of, if you can jump on a high bar six feet, you don’t raise it to seven feet and try to get over it. Because you’re not going to get over it. You raise it from 6 to 6-1, to 6-2, 6-3, and that’s how you incrementally improve, to continue to excel. And I think that’s what we need to do at the Department of Education.” (more…)