Florida’s school grade calculation adds up to twelve components, each worth 100 points, and converts the school’s total into a percentage that maps to a letter from A to F. The components cover how many students are passing state tests, how many are making year-over-year learning gains, and, for high schools, how many are graduating and earning college or career credit. The formula lives in Section 1008.34 of the Florida Statutes.
The Components That Feed the Grade
Every graded school is scored on a core set of eight components. Each is expressed as a percentage of students meeting the measure, and each is worth up to 100 points toward the school’s total.
- ELA proficiency on the statewide English Language Arts assessment.
- Math proficiency on the statewide math assessment.
- Science proficiency on the statewide science assessment.
- Social studies proficiency on the statewide social studies assessment.
- ELA learning gains from one year to the next.
- Math learning gains from one year to the next.
- ELA learning gains among the lowest-performing 25 percent of students, based on prior-year scores.
- Math learning gains among the lowest-performing 25 percent of students.
The lowest-25-percent measures matter because they show up twice in the formula and can’t be inflated by strong overall scores. A school with high proficiency but flat growth among its struggling students loses ground in two full components.
Two additional components apply only at certain grade levels. Schools that include grade 3 earn points for the percentage of third graders scoring at achievement level 3 or higher on the statewide ELA assessment. Middle schools serving grades 6–8 (or 7–8) earn points for the percentage of students passing high school end-of-course exams or earning national industry certifications.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 1008.34 – School Grading System; School Report Cards; District Grade
Two Extra Components for High Schools
High schools carry the eight core components plus two more:
- The four-year graduation rate.
- College and career acceleration, meaning the percentage of students who earned college or career credit through AP exams, International Baccalaureate exams, dual enrollment, industry certifications on the state’s CAPE list, or qualifying Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery scores combined with Junior ROTC coursework.
The acceleration measure treats career pathways and college pathways as equivalent. A student who completes 300 or more clock hours of career dual enrollment counts the same in the calculation as one who passes an AP exam.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 1008.34 – School Grading System; School Report Cards; District Grade
That brings the possible components to ten for elementary and middle schools and twelve for high schools.
Turning Points Into a Letter
Once every applicable component is scored, the points are added together and divided by the total points possible. The result is a percentage, and the percentage falls into one of five bands. The bands differ by school type.
For elementary schools in 2024–25:
- A: 62 percent or higher
- B: 54 to 61 percent
- C: 41 to 53 percent
- D: 32 to 40 percent
- F: 31 percent or below
For middle, high, and combination schools in 2024–25:
- A: 64 percent or higher
- B: 57 to 63 percent
- C: 44 to 56 percent
- D: 34 to 43 percent
- F: 33 percent or below
The thresholds tighten in 2025–26 for high schools, combination schools, and districts. Under that new scale, an A requires 65 percent or higher, a B requires 60 to 64 percent, a C requires 45 to 59 percent, a D requires 35 to 44 percent, and anything below 35 percent is an F.2Florida Department of Education. Florida School Grades Results Packet 2025
Which Tests the Formula Uses
Every proficiency and learning-gains component depends on statewide assessments, and those assessments changed after the 2021–22 school year, when Florida retired the Florida Standards Assessments.3Florida Department of Education. FSA Historical Two systems now feed the calculation:
- The Florida Assessment of Student Thinking (FAST) covers ELA and math in grades 3 through 10.
- Benchmarks for Excellent Student Thinking (B.E.S.T.) end-of-course exams and subject assessments cover science, social studies, and specific high school courses such as Algebra 1 and Geometry.4Florida Department of Education. Statewide Assessments Guide 2025-2026
FAST is given three times a year, in fall, winter, and spring. The school grade calculation draws from the spring administration.
How District Grades Are Calculated
Florida assigns a letter grade to each of its 67 school districts using the same components as the individual school grades, applied across the district’s entire student population. Because the calculation runs at the district level, it captures students who transferred between schools during the year and students at schools that don’t receive individual grades.
The district report card carries additional measures alongside the letter: progress in closing achievement gaps between higher- and lower-performing student groups, learning gains of the highest-performing students, attendance trends, and grade-level promotion rates for students scoring at the lowest achievement levels in ELA and math.1Justia Law. Florida Statutes 1008.34 – School Grading System; School Report Cards; District Grade Those extra measures are reported, not folded into the district’s letter grade itself.
What a High or Low Grade Triggers
The grade is not just a label. On the upside, schools that earn an A, receive a “Commendable” rating, improve by at least one letter grade, or improve by more than one letter grade and sustain that improvement the next year qualify for the Florida School Recognition Program, which pays up to $100 per full-time equivalent student. The money goes to the school, and the staff votes on how to spend it.5Florida Department of Education. Florida School Recognition Program
On the downside, Section 1008.33 sets a timeline of consequences. A first D triggers immediate intervention and support. A first F, or a second consecutive D, requires the district to file a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Education by September 1 and a turnaround plan with the State Board of Education by October 1. A school that fails to reach a C after completing its turnaround plan must be handed to one of three options: reassignment of students, closure and reopening as a charter school under a proven operator, or an outside operator running turnaround services under a performance-based contract of at least two years. Missing the C mark after two years under the chosen option forces the district to switch to a different option from the same list.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 1008.33 – Authority to Enforce Public School Improvement
One boundary worth stating: the school grade doesn’t drive Florida’s main education funding formula. The Florida Education Finance Program allocates money based on enrollment, student characteristics, and local tax base. Grades affect money through the Recognition Program and through enrollment shifts when families leave a low-graded school, not through the base per-student allocation.