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PRESS RELEASE

August 21, 2007

Tom Butler
(850) 245-0413

Commissioner Blomberg Announces Results of 2007 School Grades Appeals

TALLAHASSEE — Education Commissioner Jeanine Blomberg today announced the results of the 2007 school grades and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) appeals. Each year, school districts may submit appeals to the Department of Education (DOE) for school grades and AYP designations required by the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This year, districts submitted appeals on behalf of 42 schools, including 15 school grade appeals (Table B), 14 AYP appeals (Table C) and 13 for both school grades and AYP (Tables B and C), up from 33 appeals last year, but down from 49 appeals the previous year.

"The school grades appeals process is an important tool in Florida’s education accountability system,” said Commissioner Blomberg. “It helps ensure that our schools are receiving the most accurate grade possible and that special circumstances are given a process for consideration.”

This year, 28 appeals were accepted, including eight school grade appeals and 12 AYP appeals. In addition, eight appeals for both school grades and AYP were accepted. The appeals resulted in improving the grade for a number of schools, with five schools now earning an “A”, three schools now earning a “B”, and two schools now earning a “C”. Eleven appeals resulted in a change to a school's AYP designation from “No” or “Incomplete” to “Yes”. Under NCLB, Florida now has 1,087 schools meeting the 39 AYP criteria.

In addition to the 42 appeals, the DOE received 38 AYP-only appeals from schools affected by the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) directive to exclude from the AYP calculation a subgroup of students with disabilities who took Florida’s alternate assessment instead of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Since July, the DOE has been working with the ED to seek waivers for schools impacted by this ruling. These appeals will be considered pending until resolution is reached with the ED. The DOE previously indicated to school districts that an appeal on this matter was not necessary and that any schools impacted by this issue would be included in the final outcome. The DOE is currently in contact with the ED Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, in an effort to resolve this issue.

In order to formally appeal a school grade or AYP designation, districts were required to submit an explanation and supporting data on behalf of the school to the DOE. Formal appeals all stated the schools' basis for appeal and were accompanied by appropriate documentation. School districts were required to submit their school grade appeals by July 30, 2007.

Table A - 2006-07 School Grade Distribution after the Appeals Process

Table B - 2006-07 School Grade Appeals Results

Table C - 2006-07 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Appeals Results

Table D - Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Appeals Based on ED Issue (Decisions Pending)

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