Miami-Dade Schools: First Time No 'F' Ratings

MIAMI, FL — Declaring that the "impossible has become the inevitable," Miami schools superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho flashed a thumbs up on Wednesday as he announced that there were no “F” rated traditional public schools in the Miami area for the first time ever. The state of Florida released its annual education report cards earlier in the day. Miami-Dade County Public Schools ranks as the fourth largest school district in the United States with 346,000 students.

"I know it's warm but it's about to get really hot right here in the '305,'" Carvalho said prior to announcing the ratings. "You need to understand that back in 1999 this school system had 26 'F' rated schools. Since 1999 until now, this system has always had 'F' schools. Why? Because it is a self-adjusting scale. To the extent you have 'A' schools, you should expect 'F' schools at least across the state." (Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami Patch.)

That wasn't the case in the Miami area, at least not this year. He pointed to 2007, one year before his team took over. There were 23 'F' rated schools that year, according to Carvalho.

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"For close to 20 years there wasn't a single year where Miami-Dade did not have 'F' rated schools," he acknowledged. "This year, the impossible has become the inevitable — a triumph of our teachers, our principals, this mission-driven school board, our parents, our entire community."

But was more good news.

"Not only have we dramatically lifted, raised the floor of performance in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, we have also elevated the ceiling of performance for all schools across the system," he added.

The state of Florida has released the school grades every year since 1999 to help communities better understand the performance of their schools.

Other highlights include:

• In 2017, 39 percent of all Miami-Dade schools received “A” ratings, compared to just 30 percent statewide. This is an increase of 9 percentage points from last year.
• Higher percentages of district schools received “A” ratings in 2017 than those in all other large Florida districts, including Broward, Hillsborough, Duval, Palm Beach and Orange.
• The district received higher ratings than the state and those other large counties when examining the percentage of schools scoring “A” and “B” ratings or when combined across “A” and “B” ratings.
• For each school type, district schools outpaced schools statewide in the percentage receiving “A” ratings.

Watch Miami schools superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho as he discusses the Florida public school grades:

For more information or to see how your child's school performed click here.

Photo and video of Alberto M. Carvalho courtesy of Miami-Dade County Public Schools