Keys schools earn B average on state’s report card, falling from an A

The Monroe County School District took home a B on the state’s report card for this school year, falling from an A average in 2015.

Two elementary schools, Poinciana in Key West and Stanley Switlik in Marathon, earned the lowest grades in the district by receiving Cs while the only school in the Florida Keys that improved its grade was the Key West charter high school, which went from a C to a B.

From the 2005-06 school year through 2011-12, Monroe earned straight As, falling to a B for the next two years and regained an A average in 2014-15.

The complete data, compiled through results of student standardized tests, is available at schoolgrades.fldoe.org. They are designed to give a picture of accountability.

In Monroe, eight schools earned As — Coral Shores High School, Sugarloaf, Plantation Key, Treasure Village, Key West Montessori, Sigsbee, Ocean Studies and Big Pine Academy. Six took home Bs — Key West High, Horace O'Bryant School, Marathon Middle/High, Key Largo, Gerald Adams Elementary and Key West Collegiate Academy.

School officials pointed out Monroe County was tied for 12th in the state’s overall ranking system, up two spots from last year, and blamed the district’s lower grade on the state’s new formula for calculating academic success. This year, the Florida Department of Education added a “learning gains” component, which measures whether students made progress.

“School and district grades are just one measurement of the work that we do with our students to prepare them for success,” Superintendent Mark Porter said in a statement after the state released the grades Friday. “Across the state 31 percent of schools dropped at least one letter grade while only 12 percent improved their standing.”

In an email to School Board members, Porter pointed out only three districts in Florida earned As and Monroe’s B average wasn’t a surprise.

“As anticipated, with the addition of a more stringent ‘learning gains’ criteria the bar has clearly gone up significantly,” Porter told the board, which next meets at 5:05 p.m. July 19 in Key West.

This story was originally published July 13, 2016 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Keys schools earn B average on state’s report card, falling from an A."