The School District of Palm Beach County achieves an “A” rating for the 2023-2024 school year, according to an announcement on July 24, 2024, by the Florida Department of Education. The School District increased its overall ranking among other school districts statewide.
School districts and individual public schools receive letter grades from the Florida Department of Education based on several factors including student performance on state tests, graduation rates, and student performance on advanced coursework.
In recent years, Superintendent Michael J. Burke and the School Board have:
- Prioritized phonics instruction.
- Enhanced efforts to prepare incoming kindergarteners.
- Increased enrollment in more rigorous and advanced coursework (including Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, Dual Enrollment, and Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education).
- Supported more career and technical education.
- Enhanced Choice programming from elementary to high school.
“Today’s announcement underscores the dedication of Palm Beach County’s families, teachers, administrators, support staff, and community members to educating, affirming and inspiring our students,” Superintendent Burke said. “I’m especially proud of our students who put in the hard work to achieve this coveted ‘A’ rating. With the highest graduation rate among Florida’s largest urban school districts and an ‘A’ rating, Palm Beach County schools remain ‘Your Best Choice’ for students and families in Palm Beach County.”
Notable Accomplishments for the 2023-2024 School Year
- 53 schools improved one or more letter grade.
- 113 traditional District-operated schools earned an “A” or “B” grade, which is the highest total number of schools to be “A” or “B” rated in the last five years.
- The Glades Region reached an unprecedented level of student achievement.
- Two schools, Plumosa School of the Arts and K.E. Cunningham/Canal Point Elementary School, increased two letter grades.
Earlier this summer, the Florida Department of Education also released the 2023-2024 school year assessment results. School District of Palm Beach County students achieved academic gains in almost all tested subject areas, especially Algebra 1, which saw the largest increase in growth among the seven largest school districts in the state. The District also saw an increase in the percentage of students scoring level 3 or higher in grades 3 to 10 combined for English Language Arts at a higher rate than the state.
Resources:
Executive Summary of the District and School Grades
Executive Summary of the Assessment Results Release