Pinellas schools see improvement in new state grades

The Florida Department of Education has released its district and school grades for the 2022/23 school year.

According to the department, this round of grades serves as a baseline and carries no negative consequences as a part of the state’s transition to using progress monitoring instead of traditional “high-stakes” testing. Results show the Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando school districts all earned B grades overall. 

Pinellas County Schools avoided any F grades, earning 42 A’s, 31 B’s, 38 C’s and four D’s. Pinellas County Schools remained a B district for the eighth consecutive year, but the district remains hopeful for the future, noting in a news release that it’s only two points away from an A designation.

Since his appointment in 2022, Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick has been vocal about his goal of improving middle schools in his district, which have seen lower enrollment numbers and lagging test scores in recent years. 

“We placed a heavy emphasis in our middle schools the last couple of years on the student experience,” said Hendrick. What is it that excites them to come to school? What would make someone want to come, beyond English and math and social studies? What are those things that make students excited?”

Pinellas County Schools Superintendent Kevin Hendrick. Photo: PCS Facebook.

The school grades from the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) show Hendrick’s focus on the on the district’s middle schools may be working; 10 middle schools improved their school grade, including Tyrone Middle School – rising from the district’s only F last year to a C this year.

“Middle School is quite an age,” said Pinellas County School Board Chair Laura Hine. “While adolescence might feel quite confounding at times, it is also a very powerful age of curiosity and of becoming. Middle schools are an area on which our district has been focusing, and we’ve seen some success. We’ve been creating and piloting a new middle school day, trying to make that day have more collaboration, relevant and innovative project and team-based learning, as well as enrichment.”

The FDOE report also graded each district on various achievement indicators. Here’s how Pinellas County Schools scored:

• English Language Arts: C
• Mathematics: C
• Science: C
• Social Studies: B
• Middle School Acceleration: A
• Graduation Rate 2021/22: A
• College and Career Acceleration 2021/22: B

In 2019, the FDOE began developing new standards that were “clear and concise and that outlined what a student should know and be able to do at each grade level,” according to FDOE. After dozens of workgroup meetings were held throughout the state with educators and stakeholders, the State Board of Education adopted the new Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking standards. 

Following the transition to the new standards, the FDOE developed a new test, Florida’s Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST). Unlike end-of-year standardized testing, FAST is a progress monitoring system that aims to provide teachers, students and parents immediate and actionable data at the beginning, middle and end of the school year. According to the FDOE, Florida was the first state in the nation to establish a system using progress monitoring to drive student improvement.

School districts will now use their 2022/23 baseline grades from the FAST assessment to make changes in instructional practices that state leaders hope will lead to better outcomes for students.

“These school grades serve as a baseline for districts and provide a starting point for future achievement,” said Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz, Jr. in a prepared statement. “I look forward to seeing schools rise to the occasion as they continue to provide Florida students a first-rate education.”

Although schools will not receive penalties this year, FDOE leaders said they may receive the benefits of an increased school grade by qualifying for school recognition or exiting turnaround status. For the 2023/24 school year, learning gains and consequences associated with school grades will return.