On Thursday, July 7, 2022, the Florida Department of Education (FDOE) released school grades for the 2021-2022 academic year, which show that schools statewide exceeded expectations.
- Okaloosa received an overall grade of A, one of fourteen districts in the state to earn the highest rating.
At that time, Fort Walton Beach High School, Choctawhatchee High School, and Crestview High School received an “I” for incomplete. The District said that they were working with the Department of Education to resolve that issue.
On Tuesday, August 30, school grades for the three high schools were released:
- Fort Walton Beach High School received an A
- Choctawhatchee High School and Crestview High School both received Bs.
As previously reported, the incomplete grades were initially given because the schools fell short of the requirement to test 95% of students. Florida Department of Education Chancellor Jacob Oliva mentioned earlier this summer that there were a higher than usual number of incomplete grades across the state.
According to Okaloosa Deputy Superintendent Steve Horton, the percent tested for the 3 schools was in the 93-94% range.
“It’s the first time the schools have ever fallen short, and there is a plan in place to ensure that does not happen again,” he told Get The Coast. “The district believed that each school’s results, despite falling just short of the 95% tested, were an accurate reflection of their overall performance.”
- The Department of Education agreed with the Okaloosa County School District’s assessment and issued the grades.
These results do not impact the overall District grade which remains an A. The results of all the student assessments at those three schools was already included in the district grade calculation when it was awarded the A, so there is no recalculation of the district grade.
“I’m extremely proud of the performance of these three high schools ad the part they play in the Okaloosa County School District being an A-rated district once again,” said Superintendent Marcus Chambers. “These school grades were earned through the hard work of students and teachers during a challenging year.”
Chambers added that the District is putting all of their focus now on doing even better this school year.
