New Tampa's High Schools Earn 'B' Grades

By Matt Wiley

Although they didn’t receive top marks for the 2013-14 school year, New Tampa’s high schools both still received good “B” grades, despite new, more rigorous state standards for the year.

On December 18, the Florida Department of Education (FDoE) released its annual high school grades report, and New Tampa’s Freedom High (located on Commerce Park Blvd. in Tampa Palms) and Paul R. Wharton High (located on Bruce B. Downs [BBD] Blvd.) both have earned ‘B’ grades. 

“It’s important to note that the state continues to raise the bar and our students and teachers continue to meet the challenge,’’ said recently ousted Hillsborough County School District (HCSD) superintendent MaryEllen Elia before her contract was terminated by the School Board (see page 1) in a press release, referencing the increased education standards in Florida that were implemented for the 2013-14 school year, leading up to this year’s more rigorous nationwide Common Core standards. “The hard work being done in our high schools is reflected in a higher level of achievement.”

This year also features a new standardized testing system, the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA) test, based upon those Common Core standards.

According to a press release from the HCSD, Freedom and Wharton were two of 10 of the 27 total high schools in the county to earn “B” grades, while 10 others earned “A” grades. Together, the release states that three quarters of the District’s schools earned either an “A” or “B” grade. This year, the overall graduation rate for HCSD was 73.5 percent.

While elementary and middle school grades are released in the fall, high school grades come out in December to allow for additional factors to be weighed into each school’s score. High school grades have been determined using a number of factors, including students’ performance on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT, which was administered for the final time this past school year), as well as graduation rates. 

The FDoE site explains that school grades communicate to the public how well a school is performing relative to state standards, encouraging its students to participate and succeed in accelerated course offerings (such as Advanced Placement [AP] and International Baccalaureate [IB] courses), graduating its students and preparing its students for postsecondary education. 

Wharton actually fell from its “A” grade last year to a “B” this year, after moving up from its “B” during the 2011-12 school year.

“We’re okay with our grade,” says Wharton principal Brad Woods. “But, we’re not where we want to be. We always strive for that next level. I’m a little disappointed we didn’t get the ‘A’ this year.”

Woods says that several factors came into play with the school’s grade this year, including the graduation rate of Wharton’s at-risk students (or students who are at risk of dropping out, meaning those students who perform poorly in academics and require extra help just to stay on track for graduation), which dropped from 51 percent to 41 percent. 

“Our at-risk graduation rate really dropped,” Woods says. “It’s one of our areas of focus this year. We’re trying to make sure that we help those kids work toward completing their goals, too.”

Wharton’s 78-percent overall graduation rate was higher than the District’s, although it actually dropped a point from its 79 percent graduation rate last school year. However, Wharton did see an increase in its students’ performance in accelerated classes, jumping from 62 percent to 68 percent of students who passed their AP or IB exams.

Woods says that he hopes his students and teachers will perform well on the upcoming inaugural FSA test this spring. 

“My teachers are increasing their expectations for students, so that they work harder and are more prepared for the (new) test,” Woods says, adding that the FSA will be a change of pace because there is no available baseline information for how students have performed on the test in the past.

“So, every school is in the same position,” Woods says. “It’s a level playing field. We’re implementing the new standards in our curriculum, but until the test is done and the proficiency levels are set, it’s a huge challenge.”

Freedom Holds Onto ‘B’

Wharton wasn’t the only New Tampa high school to earn a “B” this past school year, FDoE reports, as Freedom has maintained its “B” grade, which it has done since moving up from a “C” in 2010.

“Obviously, we wanted an ‘A,’” says Freedom principal Sharon Morris. “But, I’m pleased with our grade. We will be an ‘A’ school next year. That’s my goal.”

Morris says that she is very happy to see that Freedom’s graduation did not decline and adds that she was especially proud that the graduation rate for the school’s at-risk students rose from 48 percent to 54 percent.

“(Our at-risk graduation rate jump) is wonderful,” Morris says. “Every student deserves the chance to graduate from high school. We’re going to continue to work with those students, but also be careful not to neglect our advanced students.”

Freedom saw gains in its students’ performance in accelerated courses, as well, jumping from 62 percent of students passing those exams to a 65-percent pass rate. That jump could be even higher for those students in the coming years, as Freedom is set to introduce the Capstone Program in 2016, one of seven in the District to implement this program, which is geared toward advanced students. Capstone is a two-year program that teaches college-level study and research skills, Morris explains, in order to better prepare high school students for more rigorous course work in college.

For more info about the grades for all Hillsborough County public schools, or to see the full report, please visit SchoolGrades.FLDOE.org.