School Grades Released Amid Controversy

(This post was written by Regional Editor Chris Taylor)

The grades are in for elementary and middle schools in Westchase and Florida.

• You can find the grade for your local schools here. 

The Florida Department of Education on Friday released statewide FCAT school grades for 2013.

Overall, the Hillsborough School District fell from a B grade in 2012 to a preliminary C grade in 2013.


This is the second straight year the State Board of Education has altered the grading system with tougher standards. This year officials also implemented a "safety net" that prevents any school from dropping more than one letter grade.

In a release Hillsborough County Public Schools offered these highlights:

• About half of Hillsborough County’s middle schools showed improvement, including the district’s two new single-gender schools.
  

• Forty elementary schools also improved their scores.
  

• Only two percent of our schools received an F grade, including charter schools, while the average across the state is four percent.

"The big story here is that at a time when it is more difficult to raise your school grade, due to the hard work and intense focus many of our schools raised their grade," Hillsborogh County Public Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia said in a press release.

Grades for High Schools will be released in the fall when more data is available.