Learning Curve

So, how are the schools? It's one of the first questions most relocating families ask when deciding where to live. Unfortunately, there isn't a simple answer. Determining the relative quality of a specific school district-or a specific school-requires parents to do some homework.

Certainly standardized test results and other objective measurements can offer a degree of insight into how well a school is educating its students. And there are options available if a neighborhood school fails to meet expectations.

Charter schools, for example, are public but operate with relative autonomy. Magnet schools specialize in various disciplines ranging from medicine and law to languages and performing arts. And voucher programs help students who opt out of repeatedly failing public schools to pay for a private education.

Of the four public school systems in Central Florida, Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County's is by far the largest-almost as big as the other three county school systems combined.

In fact, with 155,000 students and 151 schools, the Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County public school system is the fifth-largest school system in Florida and 14th largest in the nation. As such, it faces the twin challenges of keeping pace with rapid growth and meeting the needs of a racially and economically diverse student body.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County students come from 162 nations and speak 105 languages and dialects. The racial/ethnic distribution is 44 percent white, 29 percent African-American, 23 percent Hispanic and 4 percent Asian. Some live in homeless shelters and some live in mansions; some live in rural areas and some live in inner cities.

Still, for Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County School Board member Joie Cadel, high on the list of plusses for public education is the diversity of the student population.

"I really think one of the benefits that our children graduate with is an understanding of other cultures," Cadel says. "With Central Florida changing as much as it is into an international community, our graduates need to know how to work with people who don't look like them."

While these differences between students provide built-in lessons in tolerance and understanding, they tend to wreak havoc when it comes to high-stakes standardized testing. Test scores grab headlines-and are often used to make snap judgments about the public school system.

The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, developed by the Florida Department of Education and administered to all public school students in grades 3 through 10, measures student performance versus statewide standards in reading and math. In addition, a writing test is administered in grades 4, 8 and 10 and a science test is administered in grades 5, 8 and 10.

FCAT results determine whether elementary school children are promoted and whether high schoolers graduate. The same scores are also used to assign each school a letter grade, from A to F. The letter grade has emerged as the most contentious aspect of the state's A-Plus Plan for Education, an initiative championed by Gov. Jeb Bush to reform the public education system and increase accountability for performance.

If a school scores an F twice in four years, then students at that school may receive vouchers for private schools or permission to transfer to other public schools with grades of C or higher. If a school scores an A, however, then it receives extra state funding along with unabashed bragging rights.

In Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County, the only school to register three failing grades in a row is Jones High, a predominantly black school founded in the Jim Crow era. The stigma has caused an exodus of students and considerable consternation among Orlando's African-American leaders, many of whom graduated from Jones and hold the school to be symbolically and historically important.

Although no local elementary schools or middle schools received F's, two other Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County high schools, Evans and Oak Ridge, were slapped with failing marks for the second time when 2004 grades were released in mid-June. Now students there will also be eligible for transfers, leaving teachers and administrators to wonder how their schools can improve when the best students are leaving.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the county's only A high school was Winter Park, located in one of the region's most affluent communities. Because many transferees from failing schools choose Winter Park, some wonder if academic achievement there-as well as at other highly-rated schools-will suffer as a result.

Because the first wave of transfers occurred only last year, no one knows what the long-term impact will be. Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County officials have found, however, that Jones students who left in 2003 did no better on this year's standardized tests than those who stayed behind.

"Since the grades were released we've been looking very carefully at the data to determine why these schools didn't make the grade this year," says Ron Blocker, superintendent of Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Public Schools. "We're going to be putting in place a number of aggressive strategies to strategically address those problem areas. We're looking at curriculum, student services, personnel-nothing is off the table."

Further complicating the picture is a federal program, No Child Left Behind, which requires schools to show "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP) in improving the reading and math scores of underperforming students. Only specific sub-groups of students are measured, including minorities, the poor, the handicapped and those who speak English as a second language.

While 68 percent of all Florida schools received A's or B's under the state's A-Plus Plan for Education, only 23 percent passed muster under federal AYP standards. That's just a slight improvement over a dismal 16 percent showing last year.

The result? Because two years of AYP shortfalls also triggers a transfer option, thousands of students attending local schools that may have received A's or B's from the state are eligible to switch.

How could there be such a disconnect between state and federal assessments? Are most Florida schools good, or are they bad?

The problem is, states were allowed to set their own standards for meeting federal guidelines, and those standards vary widely. For example, in Florida a school can miss just one of 30 benchmarks and still be judged as having failed to achieve AYP. And the performance of very small sub-groups-as few as 30 students out of hundreds enrolled-can cause an otherwise solid school to miss the mark.

Other states, such as Texas, mitigate the problem by offering standardized tests in Spanish and by requiring that sub-groups to be measured, such as low-income students or students with disabilities, number at least 50 in any given school.

Confusing? You bet.

So, while the A-Plus Plan and No Child Left Behind can provide some interesting information for parents to use in evaluating public schools, the tests-and the grades-present at best a partial picture of school performance.

The danger in judging public schools by these test scores alone can be seen at Hillcrest Elementary School's Foreign Language Academy in downtown Orlando, a magnet school where English is taught to foreign students and foreign languages are taught to those who speak English.

Even while Hillcrest was posting D's and C's from 1999 to 2002, parents were clamoring to get their children enrolled in what is the only school in Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County-public or private-that graduates fifth-graders who are fluent in two languages.

Parents who looked beyond raw test scores realized the low grades reflected the very same language and cultural challenges that make Hillcrest the perfect school for preparing students to live and work in the Global Village. Hillcrest, by the way, earned A's in 2003 and 2004.

Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County offers several other magnet programs as well, including science at Princeton Elementary, which works in partnership with the Orlando Science Center and Sea World; engineering, science, technology and medical careers at Apopka High; and hotel management at Oak Ridge High.

Although Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County has three F high schools, there are success stories in the elementary schools. Two former F schools, Mollie Ray and Eccleston, pulled up their grades to a B and an A, respectively.

Seminole County, with 60,000-plus students and 55 schools, is considered to be among the top school districts in the state. Tests scores are above average, facilities have generally kept pace with growth and programs are innovative.

Five magnet programs are offered, including the Crooms Academy of Information Technology, a wireless school in which all students are issued a laptop and can graduate with skills qualifying them for $35,000-a-year jobs.

Seminole is a suburban county that is considerably more homogenous than its neighbor to the south. The racial/ethnic distribution of the student population is 68 percent white, 14 percent African-American, 13 percent Hispanic and 6 percent Asian.

At least in part because of the county's relative affluence, the overwhelming majority of elementary schools and middle schools earned A's while three of eight high schools received top marks. Seminole County has no F schools at any level and only one D school-Seminole High in Sanford.

Osceola County, with 35,000 students and 44 schools, has the second fastest growing school system in the state-and one of the most multicultural student populations. The racial/ethnic distribution is 52 percent white, 34 percent Hispanic, 9 percent African-American and 3 percent Asian.

This diversity-especially the large number of students for whom English is a second language-has undoubtedly impacted test scores. But the district points to steady improvement and innovative programs that combine academic instruction and workforce training.

Like Orange and Seminole, Osceola's school system offers a number of magnet programs, with specializations in finance, travel, tourism, sports medicine, the arts and teaching, among others. Also, the not-for-profit Foundation for Osceola Education Inc. is raising money for a general scholarship fund that would guarantee all graduating seniors tuition for their first year in a state university or vocational school.

Although Osceola County has no F schools at any level, school grades are dominated by C's. A notable success story has been Celebration, a combination school in the Disney-owned traditional neighborhood development that has received an A for the third consecutive year.

Lake County, a once-rural outpost, is evolving into a thriving bedroom community dotted with sprawling new subdivisions and a number of quaint small towns.

There are now 41 schools serving 33,000 students. The racial/ethnic distribution is 71 percent white, 16 percent African-American, 10 percent Hispanic and 1 percent Asian.

Tech-prep programs begin in the eighth grade in subjects such as electronics, computer technology, welding and mechanical trades while high schools offer advanced placement programs and honors courses. One high school, South Lake, features a Health Career Academy in conjunction with South Lake Hospital. Basic grounding is offered in such subjects as pharmacy, radiology and physical therapy.

Lake County has no F schools at any level although there are two D middle schools.

Which public school is best for your child? Unlike a generation ago, when the neighborhood school was the only option and accountability was minimal, today's parents have choices.

You just have to do your homework.

MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL

Q. If a school gets an F, does that automatically mean it's a bad school?

A. Well, an F is a failing grade. But remember-school grades are based in part on raw FCAT scores and in part on how much low-performing students improve from the previous year. Less than expected improvement from these students can impact a school's grade even if many other students do well on their FCATs. There are a number of other factors-such as having a significant number of students who speak English as a second language-that can also impact grades and give a misleading picture of the overall quality of instruction.

Q. What actually happens to an F school?

A. Under rules approved by the state Board of Education, local districts must "declare and emergency" at repeat-F schools so they have the ability to disregard teacher contracts and move more experienced teachers into failing schools. Districts must also end social promotion into F schools, devise Individual Education Plans for students, appoint community oversight boards and close any charter schools that have received two F's.

Q. Can poorly rated schools really improve?

A. Many have. Since the A-Plus Plan for Education was introduced five years ago, the number of F and D schools statewide has plunged from 28 percent to 9 percent. Also, the number of schools receiving A's or B's soared to 68 percent from 21 percent. In 1999. Proponents will say the schools are getting better; opponents will say teachers are simply getting more proficient at "teaching to the test."

Q. Is the improvement across the board?

No. This year many high schools and middle schools saw their grades decline. In Central Florida, 13 high schools dropped a grade level, including two that fell from D's to F's. Only two local high schools posted improved grades. Some say that too much of the state's educational reform effort has been directed at elementary schools. Others say that the decline is misleading because slow progress among under-performing students has offset gains made in other areas. In several cases, according to Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County officials, high schools that easily had the scores needed for a C lost an entire letter grade for that reason alone. "In some cases, higher FCAT scores from just three students would have been enough to boost the grade," notes Lee Baldwin, director of accountability for Orlando" target="_blank">Orange County Public Schools.

Q. What's "No Child Left Behind?"

A. That's a federal program that also uses FCAT scores for rating schools in Florida. But it focuses only on targeted groups of students-mostly minorities, poor children and learning disabled children. Schools in which such students show "Adequate Yearly Progress" receive federal school-poverty funds. Schools that fail two years in a row-and that would be the vast majority of schools in Florida-must offer transfers or other options. Under the federal standards, only 23 percent of Florida schools met the No Child Left Behind benchmarks in 2004 versus 16 percent last year.