Dec. 11, 2023 – Students in Duval County Public Schools earned the district another solid “B” grade for the 2022-23 academic year, and the percentage of district-managed “A” schools increased from 27% to 29%.
Last year’s students were tested on new state standards using new state tests, which means they cannot be compared to previous years’ results.
Because of this, measures of school improvement and student learning gains are not part of this year’s school grade calculation.
“While we can’t compare to past years, these results give us a solid baseline and reflect the hard work of our teachers and school leaders,” said Dr. Dana Kriznar, Duval County Public Schools superintendent. “Adapting instruction to new standards and news tests is never easy, and our educators are clearly doing the work to serve their students.”
While comparisons to the past are not valid, the district found itself in the same range as many of the other large school districts in Florida. The district landed slightly ahead of Hillsborough and Broward counties in percentage of points earned and equal to Orange County. Duval trails Pinellas, Palm Beach, and Miami-Dade counties.
“What we have seen on national assessments over the years is that Duval and other urban Florida districts do very well compared to other urban cities in the nation,” Kriznar said. “Since this set of results is our baseline for state comparisons, we are working to improve at a faster rate than our large county rivals. That’s a healthy competition that really benefits students and will keep Florida on top nationally.”
Only 8% of district-managed schools received grades of either “D” or “F,” while 20% of area charter schools are in that low-performing category. Of those receiving failing grades, three are charter schools and two are district-managed schools.
“We are starting a new era of grading,” said Kriznar. “This serves as a baseline year. The next set of scores will help us draw firm conclusions about student learning under the new standards.”