Collier, Lee school districts earn 'B' from state

Their kids were graded, and so were their schools. Today, it was school districts' turn.

Lee and Collier counties both netted a B grade, the same as last year, from the Florida Department of Education. With Collier earning 407 points versus last year's 403, and Lee earning 408 points compared with last year's 402, both county's school districts were just a few points shy of the 410 score needed to get an A grade.

The grades are based on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, which tests students in reading, math, writing and science. Schools and districts are graded based on what proportion of their students are proficient in math, reading and writing. But half the grade also depends not on raw scores but on the amount of progress students make from one year to the next. The state tracks students individually from year to year, and measures their learning gains.

Starting next year, school grades will also include science scores.

Both Lee and Collier inched up by a percentage point or two in most categories compared with last year. But overall, the proportion of all students in Lee and Collier making learning gains stayed about the same, with just over 60 percent in both districts making learning gains in reading and about 70 percent in math.

To the north, Charlotte County earned an A grade, landing among the top 10 districts statewide. About a third of Florida's 67 districts earned an A grade, 24 in all, up from 15 last year.

Twenty-nine districts earned a B grade, and 14 a C grade. For the first time, no districts earned a D or F.