County schools get a B from the state

By Ira Mikell, Free Press Reporter

July 09, 2008 04:44 pm

— Lafayette High School rose from a C to a B in state-assigned FCAT scores announced Tuesday, but Lafayette Elementary dropped from an A to a B.
Lafayette County Superintendent of Schools Fred Ward attributed the drop at LES to a change in scoring by the state. The number of points required for an A went up from 410 to 525 this year.
“It is very hard to stay an A when the state keeps changing the cut scores,” he said.
Ward said that although LES dropped a grade, he remains proud of how the teachers and students prepared for the test.
Ward is also pleased that LHS went from a C to a B, and says he believes both schools will improve next year.
“I am proud of our teachers and staff for going above and beyond to meet the needs of our students,” he said in an email interview. “I commend our students, parents, teachers, and principals on their hard work and thank them for their continued efforts to provide quality learning environments that enable our children to succeed.”
Lafayette County schools did not make Adequate Yearly Progress, but did meet 95 percent of the criteria for doing so.