Florida report cards are in and all of the Bloomingdale and FishHawk area schools passed with flying colors.
All local elementary, middle and high schools, with the exception of Bloomingdales High, which received a B, and Pinecrest Elementary, which received a C, were awarded the highest possible A ranking.
“The number of A and B graded schools operated by Hillsborough County Public Schools has climbed to 99 in the newest School Accountability Report data from the Florida Department of Education,” said Tanya Arja, Hillsborough County Public Schools’ Media Outreach. “Schools graded A and B now make up 46 percent of all district-operated schools in Hillsborough, a 3 percentage point increase from 2018.”
According to the Florida Department of Education, school grades provide an understandable way to measure the performance of a school and focus on student success measures through achievement, learning gains and maintaining a focus on students who need the most support.
Schools are graded A, B, C, D or F based on scores based on 11 components: four achievements, four learning gains, a middle school accelerations as well as for graduation rates and college and career accelerations.
Each component is worth up to 100 points in the overall calculation. The number of points earned for each component is added together and divided by the total number of available points to determine the percentage of points earned.
Randall Middle School in Lithia is celebrating its 20th birthday this year and has continually maintained an A grade since opening its doors in 2000 and earning the highest school grade points for any traditional middle school in Hillsborough County
“At Randall, we are very fortunate to have family support. Our parents provide our school with so many resources through their volunteer work and donations,” said Principal Claire Mawhinney. “Our students come to school with a strong foundation that we can build on for success. We have high expectations for ourselves and our students. Our teachers and support staff put in extra hours tutoring and volunteering time to our clubs, STEM, music and athletic programs.”
“The amazing thing is this is achieved with a larger than average middle school population of 1,424 students,” added Mawhinney. “We are very proud of our learning gains in language arts this year. Ours students showed gains in their scores, moving from 58 percent in 2018 to 65 percent in 2019. This is important data since it reflects the success of all of our students, including those who need extra academic support. We are proud of our students and ready to soar into the new school year.”
Visit www.fldoe.org/accountability/accountability-reporting/school-grades.
