Florida School Grades Confusing Issue For New Residents

School quality is always a concern for relocating parents. In a world where a good education is increasingly important, many parents even base their final decision about home choice on the reported quality of the schools in various neighborhoods.

Here in Florida, the states A+ school reporting plan is supposed to give parents an easy way to compare schools with one another at a glance, but many question whether the system really reflects the situation accurately. When the Florida Department of Education released the school grades for 2007 a couple of weeks ago, there seemed to be more confusion and controversy than information in the published reports.

If you were a parent trying to decide where to relocate, youd be understandably confused by the newspaper reports announcing the gains and losses over the preceding year. In Orlando, the papers announced that school grades had taken a nose dive. In Palm Beach, they reported that there were dramatic improvements and crushing drops. In Tampa, the papers admitted to confusion over exactly what the school grades were measuring, but reported a general dissatisfaction with the entire system. When the professionals are confused about what school grades mean, how can parents be expected to make an informed choice?

How School Grades are Determined

Under the Florida education system, school grades are based on three major areas:

• the performance of the school as a whole on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test in Reading, Math and Science at specific grade levels
• the improvement in grades of students in the school in Reading, Math and Science on the FCAT over the previous year
• the improvement of the lowest performing 25% of students in Reading, Math and Science in the FCAT over the previous year

In addition, in order to receive any grade above an F, 90% of the schools students must take the FCAT. In order to receive an A, 95% of the students must take the FCAT. Schools receive points on a scale of 0-800 based on those factors, and are assigned a letter grade based on those points.

The system was originally instituted in 1999. In that year, 78 schools received a failing grade and another 600 received a D. Only 13% of the schools received an A rating. The states school grades overall have trended upward each year, with a couple of exceptions.

In the intervening years, the standards for receiving a passing grade have been changed three times, each time tightening the requirements to raise the bar. Each time that the standards have been tightened, the results were predictable more schools failed than in the previous year and a percentage of schools found that their school grade had dropped from the year before. In nearly every case, those grades were recovered over the next year as teachers and students adjusted to the new material they were required to know.

The most recent adjustment to the grading system took place this year. For the first time in the 2006-2007 school year, the performance of students on the Science portion of the FCAT was taken into account in grading schools. Predictably, as has happened both other times that students had to meet higher standards, there are more schools than last year with F ratings, and a number of schools received lower grades than they did last year. If you take the comparative numbers against last years figures without adjusting for changes to the grading system, it certainly appears that the schools are losing ground in the fight to educate our children.

If you take a longer view, though, the picture is far different. In 1999, only 13% of all Florida schools received an A rating. In 2007, that figure increased to 52% - despite the fact that the standards are much higher than they were just eight years ago. In 1999, nearly 50% of all Florida schools received a C rating. This year, that figure is 17%. The percentage of D rated schools went from 24.5% to 8%. The only figure that has remained unchanged is the F rating with approximately 3% of Florida schools receiving an F rating.

Even so, both parents and educators and in many cases students have serious concerns about the way that schools are graded, especially in light of the consequences of lower grades for schools. Many parents who have children in the lower graded schools are bewildered they see that their children are being taught by teachers who care enough to work with them after school and push them to learn more. Teachers express concerns that they are forced to teach the test instead of the children and in many cases to do so without the equipment and supplies necessary to teach effectively. These concerns arent unique to Florida. They mirror controversies and conversations that are being held in nearly every state across the nation.

Through all of this, though, two facts stand out. The first is that accountability is a vital part of the public education process. There must be some method of measuring whether the schools are doing their jobs of educating children. The system that were using now may be flawed, but it does provide an overview of a schools progress toward improvement, and it allows for adjustment and improvement of the system itself to measure more accurately. It allows the state to pinpoint schools and regions that need assistance in meeting standards so that resources can be focused there.

The second fact is also undeniable. Since 1999, Florida schools have shown marked overall progress toward meeting the standards of education set forth by the state. In New Tampa, every one of the elementary schools received an A rating this year, despite the higher standards, and not a single school was rated an F.

While the current system may be flawed, it does provide a starting point for parents looking for school information. Parents who want a deeper look can access the schools full report card at the FDOEs web site, and use the time-honored methods that parents have always used to decide on a school for their children. Schedule an interview with the school principal. Talk with neighbors in the neighborhoods youre considering. Learn about the schools on a personal level. The more involved you are in the process, the easier it becomes to make an informed choice about your childrens education.

Calum MacKenzie is Broker/Owner of Real Living Southern Homes, a leading residential real estate brokerage serving the New Tampa real estate and Land OLakes real estate markets.

Credit Report Repair - Watch Out For The So-Called Experts Of Credit Reporting

Nowadays there seems to be an "expert" credit report repair company everywhere you look. There are advertisements on the television, in your newspapers, and of course all over the Internet.

In addition, every time you turn on your radio or look in the mailbox you will continue to find credit repair companies that make bold claims about how well they can get your debts cleared and resume your financial status back into the green zone.

What's with all the hype?

You know exactly the type of claims I am talking about. These credit repair companies all say the same thing:

"Do you have credit problems? No problem, we can help!"

"Work with us and legally create an entirely new identity"

"We can erase all of your bad credit, no matter how much debt you have, and it is 100% guaranteed!"

"Do you have judgments, bankruptcies, bad loans, and liens? Our services can wipe these items from your credit file and remove them forever!"

Do not fall for these very misleading statements

It is quite understandable to be persuaded by the sales hype of these types of credit report repair offers. Let's face it, your credit is a mess, debts are high, and like most people, you would do anything to repair and clear your credit. But like the old saying goes: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is"

You must learn to recognize the red flags of false advertising and misleading credit repair claims. Most of these companies are just looking for a fast buck by taking advantage of desperate men and women who have piled on debt over the years. Unfortunately, many young people tend to fall for these types of offers because of poor spending decisions and extremely high student loan expenses.

Watch out for the following red flags

When responding to any offer from a credit report repair company, regardless of whether it is in good standing with their clients are not, watch out for the following red flags:

1. Credit repair companies that ask for payments upfront before any of their services are provided to you.

2. Agencies that except your payment but then refer you to directly contacting the credit bureaus yourself.

3. Debt repair services that use illegal tactics in order to try to beat the credit filing system, such as offering to help create a new identity for you.

4. Credit repair companies that do not fully disclose your legal rights and what you can do for yourself to help repair your credit that is free of charge.

All hope is not lost, there are trustworthy credit repair agencies available!

The point of this article is not to scare you off into thinking that all credit repair companies and their offers are scams. In fact, there are indeed some very professional and reputable credit report repair companies that can help you with your debts. But certainly you must heed the advice of not falling for every offer that promises to clear your name and your debts overnight, literally.

For free information on obtaining your credit report try visiting http://www.free-instant-credit-report-guide.com a very popular free credit report site that provides tips, advice and resources to include information on credit report repair, credit report scores, credit report services and credit report disputes.