Editor’s Note: This story was updated to add the grades for the public charter school programs.

The Florida Department of Education’s (FDOE) latest school accountability report documents improvements in Alachua County Public Schools (ACPS), including the district’s highest-needs schools. The district itself averaged out to a B in the report, released this morning. 

This was the second year the FDOE determined school grades based on the new Florida Assessments of Student Thinking (FAST) test, so last year’s results were seen as a baseline which could not be directly compared to the year before. 

Since last year, eight ACPS schools increased their grades, 20 maintained their grades and six sank to a lower grade. 

“I’m so pleased by the performance of schools that either increased their grades or held steady despite the change in the grading formula,” Superintendent Shane Andrew said in a press release. “Obviously, there was a lot of hard work put in by teachers, administrators and staff at the schools. We also appreciate the efforts of the students and families, who stepped up to the challenge of a new testing system.” 

Newberry Elementary School rose from a C to an A this year, and Metcalfe Elementary School jumped all the way from an F to a C, which leaves the district with no failing schools. 

Other School Improvement (SI) schools include Lake Forest Elementary School and Shell Elementary School, which both rose from D’s to C’s, while Terwilliger Elementary School and Idylwild Elementary School maintained their C grades, Rawlings Elementary School maintained its D grade and Alachua Elementary School fell from a C to a D. 

Lake Forest’s grade improvement means the district will not need to hire an external operator to take over running the school in the 2024-25 school year. 

The complete list of ACPS school grades are as follows: 

Elementary: 

• Carolyn Beatrice Parker: B 

• Stephen Foster: C 

• Lake Forest: C 

• Littlewood: B 

• Metcalfe: C 

• Williams: B 

• Alachua: D 

• Archer: C 

• Shell: C 

• Terwilliger: C 

• Idylwild: C 

• Glen Springs: B 

• Rawlings: D 

• Hidden Oak: A 

• Wiles: A 

• Chiles: B 

• Meadowbrook: B 

• Newberry: A 

• Norton: C 

• Talbot: A 

Middle: 

• Lincoln: A 

• Howard W. Bishop: C 

• Westwood: C 

• Hawthorne: C 

• Mebane: C 

• Fort Clarke: B 

• Kanapaha: B 

• Oak View: B 

High: 

• Gainesville: B 

• Newberry: B 

• Santa Fe: C 

• Loften: A 

• Eastside: Incomplete 

• Buchholz: A 

Other: 

• Alachua eSchool: Incomplete 

• High Springs Community School: A 
• Alachua Virtual Instruction Program: Incomplete

Charter:

• Santa Fe College Academy of Science and Technology: A
• Constellation Charter School: Incomplete
• The One Room School House Project: C
• Micanopy Area Cooperative School: A
• Caring & Sharing Learning School: B
• Expressions Learning Arts Academy: A
• Alachua Learning Academy Elementary: A
• Micanopy Academy: Incomplete
• Healthy Learning Academy Charter School: A
• Alachua Learning Academy Middle: A
• Boulware Springs Charter: A
• Resilience Charter School: Incomplete

Andrew also noted learning gains made by local students among what the state calls the ‘lowest 25%’ based on their test scores, whose scores are weighted more heavily in Florida’s school grading system. 

Public charter schools were also factored into the district grade.

“We saw some spectacular learning gains during the last school year, particularly among students who tend to struggle most with the state tests,” Andrew said. “Of course there’s always more to do, but we’re certainly trending in a very good direction.” 

The State Board of Education approved FDOE’s updated school grading scale this morning, leaving elementary schools with the grading scale that was used from 2014-15 to 2021-22, while all other school types are now graded using a new scale. 

The new grading scales are as follows: 

Elementary Schools 

• A = 62% of points or greater 

• B = 54-61% of points 

• C = 41-53% of points 

• D = 32-40% of points 

• F = 31% of points or less 

Middle, High and Combination Schools 

• A = 64% of points or greater 

• B = 57-63% of points 

• C = 44-56% of points 

• D = 34-43% of points 

• F = 33% of points or less