Hernando County School District as a whole scored a "B" Average this year as opposed to an"A" in 2008, but was only missed by 4 points...so close.... Last year was the only time Hernando County scored an A since school grades were administered in 1999. The grades are earned through the results of Florida's Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).
According to a recent article in Hernando Today, the blame for the county's drop in letter grade rests with the high schools. Of the 1822 Florida public schools that earned an A,only 68 of them were High Schools according to FDOE figures. The High Schools are really struggling. Nature Coast Technical High School received a C, while Central and Hernando High Schools each received a D grade. Springstead High School maintained it's B average from the previous year. In 2008, Central students scored a 46 in reading, in 2009 they scored a 41. Hernando scored worse both years receiving 39 and 36 respectively. Central did show improvements in math, jumping from a 72 to a 77, Hernando HS meanwhile fell from a 68 to a 67. What cost Central an increase in letter grade was the performance of those students in the bottom 25 percent. If they do not improve significantly enough from one year to the next, the state drops the school's score by a letter grade.
The basics of the FCAT begins in kindergarten learning how to fill in the circles on the FCAT answer sheet and progresses from there, so kids will be will be prepared by the time they enter 3rd grade and take their first FCAT test. So much stress on the teachers, students and families throughout the year, with some major dissapointments in the end after trying so hard to maintain or improve. Why not let the FCAT results decide what schools to financially support in trying to turn those school's performances around?
Have a great day!