Duval has the best high schools? Could it be? (Keystone: work, buyer)

[riveree]

Okay, I was writing something on another thread, and the end result of my post, although sad in a way, was kind of funny too, so I had to put it in it's own thread:

Thought the stats are serious, I know it doesn't mean Duval's High Schools are really better than Clay or St. John's, we have some serious problems with Duval's high schools. but I think it begs the question - WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? Is it the population growth and overcrowding now hitting Clay and St. Johns like it has been in Duval? What could be causing all the high schools to be performing on a downward trend at the same time?

Here's the post from the other thread:


I was looking at the new high school stats for 2007 year, and it was suprising to see how much worse all the high schools in the region are doing:

CLAY:

Both Fleming Island and Keystone Heights High Schools went from "A" to "B"; Ridgeview went from "B" to "C" and the other 2 - Middleburg and Orange Park remain as "C"'s. No "A-rated" High Schools at the moment in Clay county.

ST. JOHNS:

Both Nease and Bartram Trail dropped from "A" to "B", though Pedro Menendez and St. Augustine picked up - a "C" to a "B" and a "D" to a "C", respectively. No "A-rated" High Schools at the moment in St. John's county.

NASSAU:

Hilliard went from an "A" to a "B" and West Nassau went from a "C" to a "D".....Yulee is still a "C" and Fernandina Beach remains a "B".....nothing "A-rated" here either .

DUVAL:

Too many high schools here to list, but it's the very same trend. Schools that were"C-rated" have dropped to "D" and worse . We still have few solid "B" high schools (Mandarin and Fletcher) and we have the same three high schools that consistently score "A"'s (Douglas Anderson, Paxon, and Stanton).


What is going on with the schools where the only county in the region with "A-rated" High Schools is Duval? Something is definitely strange .

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by riveree

Okay, I was writing something on another thread, and the end result of my post, although sad in a way, was kind of funny too, so I had to put it in it's own thread:

Thought the stats are serious, I know it doesn't mean Duval's High Schools are really better than Clay or St. John's, we have some serious problems with Duval's high schools. but I think it begs the question - WHAT IS GOING ON HERE? Is it the population growth and overcrowding now hitting Clay and St. Johns like it has been in Duval? What could be causing all the high schools to be performing on a downward trend at the same time?

Here's the post from the other thread:


I was looking at the new high school stats for 2007 year, and it was suprising to see how much worse all the high schools in the region are doing:

CLAY:

Both Fleming Island and Keystone Heights High Schools went from "A" to "B"; Ridgeview went from "B" to "C" and the other 2 - Middleburg and Orange Park remain as "C"'s. No "A-rated" High Schools at the moment in Clay county.

ST. JOHNS:

Both Nease and Bartram Trail dropped from "A" to "B", though Pedro Menendez and St. Augustine picked up - a "C" to a "B" and a "D" to a "C", respectively. No "A-rated" High Schools at the moment in St. John's county.

NASSAU:

Hilliard went from an "A" to a "B" and West Nassau went from a "C" to a "D".....Yulee is still a "C" and Fernandina Beach remains a "B".....nothing "A-rated" here either .

DUVAL:

Too many high schools here to list, but it's the very same trend. Schools that were"C-rated" have dropped to "D" and worse . We still have few solid "B" high schools (Mandarin and Fletcher) and we have the same three high schools that consistently score "A"'s (Douglas Anderson, Paxon, and Stanton).


What is going on with the schools where the only county in the region with "A-rated" High Schools is Duval? Something is definitely strange .

paxson and stanon are both excellent schools, albiet in poor locations, the balance of duvals HS are for the birds, I would put nease or bertram in ST johns over any other public HS school in duval

[backtofla]

all these C's and D's on this thing... looks like my report cards in middle school. yikes.

[Zima]

How many public schools (high schools) are in Duval? Obviously more than those other counties. Did you do a percent analysis or just compare the large Duval district with a dinky district like Nassau- what 4 high schools?

[riveree]

Originally Posted by Zima

How many public schools (high schools) are in Duval? Obviously more than those other counties. Did you do a percent analysis or just compare the large Duval district with a dinky district like Nassau- what 4 high schools?

Only looked at high schools - that's all my post was about, the high schools.

In Duval, our high schools have performed poorly while our middle schools and elementary schools do better.

Now all of a sudden the surrounding counties high school ratings have dropped to the point where they have no A-rated schools this year - none at all. I think that's pretty alarming. Is it overcrowding? Is it a new rating system? What would cause them all to slide at the same time?

And as much as the developers have counted on the school district ratings to tout their developments, what will they do now? Will they still tell people "all A-rated schools"? Or will they tell the truth to potential buyers?

[seteiwane]

Come on, Stanton (...fine, maybe Paxon & DA...) has beaten every other school in the area, and SCP has torn up all but 2 high schools in the nation. Don't know about you, but Duval REPRESENTIN'!

[Hound9p]

The st. johns district's announcement last june of grades for the 06-07 school year. Does not indicate any cause for alarm, at least from their perspective...



Schools grades released today show St. Johns County Schools with 16 "A" schools, 8 "B" schools, 2 "C" schools, and no "D" or "F" schools.

Moderator cut: copyright - provide a link instead, please

[WitchDoctor]

Someone please explain how this system works. If the criteria for greatness include passing scores for students retaking exams that they should have passed one or two years before, what is that really telling us?

I understand that there needs to be a standard scoring system so that everyone involved knows how a given education system is working, but this rating system doesn't seem to paint a very clear picture.

[songgirl]

I don't really understand the ins and outs of the school rating system either. But I do know that Bartram and Nease HS in St. Johns County have really good scores. They both dropped a few points in several areas, especially in bringing up the individual test scores of the lowest performing kids (this gets the school extra points), so they went down a letter grade. But if you look at their overall scores, they remain pretty impressive.

On the other hand, if a school has dismal scores, and makes major improvements (even if their scores are still far from stellar) they can go up to an A grade. So even if a school has lower test scores, it still can be graded higher.....I don't get it either.

I think it is a matter of if you are at the top, there is nowhere to go but down.

You have to look at the test scores for each subject more than the overall letter grade for each school to get a clearer picture.