July 2024 — Florida charter schools earned an A in the 23-24 school year. Although public charter schools in Florida are not officially designated as a district, their combined student population of over 397,000 makes them larger than most of the individual school districts in the state. This achievement indicates that charter schools — as a whole — have excelled in various areas such as student achievement, and progress, and reflect a high level of performance and effectiveness in meeting educational standards.
School grades were released just before the start of the new school year. The charter school “A” is great news for the teachers, administrators, and parents of the close to 400,000 students in Florida who attend a public charter school. “The charter school movement in Florida is meeting high standards and positively impacting student outcomes. For close to three decades, charter schools have been raising the bar on public education by driving student achievement, increasing graduation rates, and providing families with a quality educational alternative to their assigned schools,” said Lynn Norman-Teck, Executive Director, Florida Charter School Alliance.
The analysis and FL Charter School Report Card 2024 was created by Dr. Jessica Barr at RBT Data using public data released by the Florida Department of Education. RTB Data supports schools in Raising the Bar in their academic data through analysis, predictive analytics, data visualization, & engaging training.
Highlights from the 2023-2024 grades:
- 65% of all charter schools graded earned an A
- 64% of all schools (2,196 schools) earned an “A” or “B” in 2024 compared to 57% (1,961 schools) in 2023 (source: FLDOE).
- 67% of all charter schools graded (602 schools) received an “A” or “B” in 2024
- 15% of charter schools earned an “A” for the fifth consecutive year.
- Charter schools have made strides in closing achievement gaps, with notable improvements in performance among minority and historically underserved student populations. This year’s grades are a testament to the innovative approaches and dedicated efforts of educators and administrators within the charter school movement.
Although a school or district grade is not the only measure of success, it does provide a performance measure that parents and lawmakers understand. It’s also a critical measure of achievement and learning gains, middle school acceleration, graduation rate, college and career acceleration, and whether or not schools are meeting the needs of students who require the most support. According to the Florida Department of Education, nearly two-thirds of school districts statewide earned an “A” or a “B,” up from 57% of schools in 2023.