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National Report Card Gives Florida A B-Minus

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The Associated Press

Published: January 7, 2009

TAMPA - Even while Florida's schools struggle financially, a report card issued Wednesday by Education Week magazine shows them making academic progress and ranks the state 10th nationwide.

Florida received an overall grade of B-minus, up from last year's C-plus. That's higher than the national average of a C and significantly better than the state performed just two years ago, when it was ranked 31st nationwide.

Education Commissioner Eric Smith said he is "extremely pleased" with Florida's progress.

"I think what this report says is, in spite of hard times, Florida has the leadership, and Florida has the instructional teaching capacity, to continue to serve our children effectively," Smith said.

The Quality Counts report graded states in six categories, including school finance, achievement, the teaching profession, and standards, assessments and accountability. Three of those categories used data from the 2008 report.

In the areas where new figures were computed, the report shows a higher percentage of Florida students enrolling in preschool, kindergarten and post-secondary education, even while some economic indicators declined.

The state received high marks for equity in school funding: The difference in per-pupil funding between the highest and lowest-spending districts was $2,200 in 2006, the report states. That's about half the national average, placing the state second nationwide, an improvement over the previous year.

However, the state ranks among the worst in the nation in school spending. The amount spent per student was more than $1,000 below the national average in 2006. Overall, the state received a C-minus in school finance.

"This is something where, we've got a decent plan in place, if only we had the political will to make the investment in our children, we could really be making some major strides forward in public education," said Mark Pudlow, a spokesman for the Florida Education Association, the statewide teachers union.

The report also looked at readiness for school, college and the workforce. Florida received the same score as it did last year, a C-plus.

Sterling Lloyd, a senior research associate at the Editorial Projects and Education Research Center, which published the report with Education Week, cautioned against making year-to-year comparisons. But he said Florida's scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the nation's report card, shows the state is making strides.

Fourth and 8th grade students improved their scores on the test by as much as 8.3 percent in math and 5.5 percent in reading from 2003 to 2007. That's among the highest achievement gains in the nation.

"I would say, based on achievement and test scores of its students, Florida is improving at a faster rate than most states," Lloyd said. "In general, Florida is slightly above average in most of the categories that we measure."

Gov. Charlie Crist said the report "clearly indicates that Florida schools are on the right track and that our students are being prepared to compete with students across the nation."

Florida's overall score was 79.4, about the same mark Vermont received.

The report comes as legislators gather for a special session to work on Florida's $2.3 billion budget deficit. One proposed committee bill would cut public school spending by nearly $500 million.

Lloyd said funding is just one of several factors that can influence student achievement.

"It's not surprising that a state would be able to improve without increasing funding, perhaps even with cuts in funding, because there are many things (that) contribute to educational success," Lloyd said.

The report also took a close look at the performance of students who are still learning English. It noted significant disparities between those who are classified as 'English-language learners' and their fluent peers.

That gap was smaller in Florida, but still notable: On state assessments, nearly 48 percent of 4th and 8th grade English-learners were proficient in math, compared to 66 percent of all students. Likewise, about 36 percent of the examined students were proficient in reading, compared to nearly 59 percent of all pupils.

"Florida is kind of a microcosm of the nation because we have so many different students coming from so many different places," Pudlow said. "So that kind of makes the challenge that much more daunting. But we're making some progress. We could make more, but it's going to take an investment to do it."

Other areas where the state is struggling include its high school graduation rate. The percentage of students graduating from high school went from 60.5 to 60.8, placing it 44th nationwide.

State education officials say the graduation rate is actually higher. The Department of Education says 75.4 percent of students graduated in the 2007-2008 school year. Florida calculates its high school graduation rate by tracking individual students and includes those who earn General Education Diplomas.

Many national studies use class size estimates and don't include all GED recipients.

Smith said that, regardless of the calculation method, the state has shown progress.

"My goal would be to have us be an A-rated and best in the nation," Smith said. "We always have room to improve. But I think this certainly shows us gaining momentum."

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