Six Sarasota County High Schools Earn 'A's

Six of eight high schools in the Sarasota County School District earned an "A" in the grade report released Friday by the Florida Department of Education.

Overall, the district continues to be graded an "A."

Here's a summary of results:

• Four schools – North Port, Riverview, Sarasota and Sarasota Military Academy – improved their grade from a "B" last year to an "A." 
• Two high schools received a "B."
• None of the district’s comprehensive high schools was graded lower than a B.
• No district high school received a lower grade than it earned last year.

      Grades for elementary and middle schools were released in July. High school grades were not reported at that time because the Department of Education had added new accountability components to the high school grading process.

      Under the new system, 50 percent of a school’s grade is based on 2012 state assessment scores, including the FCAT, and 50 percent is based on the school’s graduation rate, the number of students who take advanced-placement courses, the number of students who pass advanced-placement examinations and indicators of student readiness for college.

      The table below shows the individual school results for high schools and combination schools that serve a general student population:

School Grade

2010-11

2011-12

District

A

A

Booker High School

B

B

North Port High School

B

A

Pine View School

A

A

Riverview High School

B

A

Sarasota High School

B

A

Sarasota Military Academy

B

A

Suncoast Polytechnical High

A

A

Venice High School

B

B

      Oak Park School, a district facility for students with severe or multiple exceptionalities from elementary grades through high school, received an F grade. It was included in the report because it serves high school students and is categorized as a combination school.

      This is the first year that Oak Park School and other exceptional education centers in Florida have received school grades.  Most students at Oak Park School do not participate in the FCAT, but instead take the Florida Alternate Assessment.