All three Florida Keys public high schools earned a B or better when the state Department of Education released its annual school grades on Wednesday.
Marathon High School improved from a B to an A, while Coral Shores High School dropped from an A to a B. Key West High stayed consistent with a B.
"A's and Bs are always good," Superintendent Jesus Jara said following a conference call with state Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson. He also noted that the district as a whole maintained an A average and lauded the efforts of Marathon High Principal Hammond Gracy.
"It has been awhile since Marathon has been an A high school," Jara said, "and that's kudos to Mr. Gracy and his staff. We're very proud of the work they have done in Marathon."
This is the second round of school grades calculated using a system devised in the 2008 legislative session that includes more than just standardized test results.
Other factors taken into consideration are graduation rates, performance of students in advanced curriculum tracks and college-entrance and other post-secondary education exam scores.
Jara said that in the next round of school grades, it would be tougher for the Monroe County School District to maintain its scores based on tougher scoring standards to be implemented on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.
"When the grades come out next year, we're concerned about the possibility that with the new [FCAT] cut scores there's going to be a drop in our school grades. It's not due to a change in instruction; it's just due to the higher standards. It's not necessarily a reflection of what has changed in the classroom and schools."
An analysis of results from the 474 statewide high schools shows that 78 percent of them earned either an A or B, an increase from 71 percent last year.
"It's great to see more of Florida's high schools trending upward," Gov. Rick Scott said in a prepared statement. "Education is critical to improving lives, preparing students for a job and attracting employers."
Robinson, acknowledging Scott's proposal to increase education spending in 2012-13, said: "Florida's strategy of raising expectations and expanding opportunities for academic growth continues to yield successful outcomes for our high school students."
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