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Northview’s School Grade Jumps From “D” To “B”

There was excitement in the air Tuesday at  Northview High School Tuesday as state school grades were released showing a jump from a D to a B.

“We are very excited; we are very proud that we are a B,” said Northview Principal Gayle Weaver.”"We knew we are a good school and we always wanted people to see beyond the school grade.”

In addition to FCAT results as in years past, school grades at the high school level this year included other factors such as graduation rates, accelerated courses and college readiness. That formula worried Weaver because, as a smaller school, Northview does not offer accelerated programs like Advance Placement or International Baccalaureate.

“No one had said what would happen to the small schools without the advanced academics,” she said.  “Now we will look at exactly how we did it. We are anxious to find out the formula was that was used.”

For results from other schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, click here.

After Northview was graded as a D school last year, the school went to work to implement a variety of plans to help students improve their FCAT scores and overall school performance. FCAT efforts were focused on achieving learning gains for ninth and tenth grade students and increase the number of the lowest performing students that achieve success.

The primary strategy implemented was the Adviser-Mentoring Program, pairing a faculty member with a students from the lower 30 percent of ninth and tenth grade students, and the implementation of an In-School Suspension (ISS) program.

In the mentoring program, advisers meet with students periodically, review academic and discipline, connect with parents, and monitor any activities associated with the student. The mentoring program is still in place this school year.

The letter grades are based upon a  new high school grading system  designed to grade schools based not only on student performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), but also on their ability to graduate students, increase student participation and performance in advanced coursework, and better prepare students for college and career. Under the new requirements, 50 percent of a high school’s grade is based on the performance of their students on the FCAT, and the remaining 50 percent is based on factors that include the following:

• The school’s graduation rate.
• The performance and participation of students in Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Enrollment, Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE), and industry certification.
• The postsecondary readiness of the students as measured by the SAT, ACT, or College Placement Test (CPT).
• The high school graduation rate of at-risk students.
• Growth or decline in these data components from year to year.

“Under the new high school grading formula, Florida has raised the bar of what our students are expected to achieve, and our schools have proven they can and will surpass those expectations,” said Education Commissioner Dr. Eric J. Smith.