The Florida Board of Education is going to discuss a proposal that would change how it would determine schools' grades on Tuesday.
"They are going before the state Board of Education tomorrow for approval, and they will take effect this school year," in 2012-2013, Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Alberto Carvalho said Monday.
Under the proposal, a school must have 25 percent or higher of its students score proficient in reading on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT), or else receive an automatic “F,” The Miami Herald reports.
That change and others would take effect for the academic year that begins this fall.
"That's one of the problems we have," Carvalho said, "is that five days into this school year they're making decisions on rules that will dramatically impact this year's grade-level determination for the schools."
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Superintendents, parents, and advocates for disabled students and English-language learners are opposed to the proposal.
If it is approved, the scores of special education students and second-year English-language learners would be counted towards a school's grade as well.
"We've made terrific accomplishments here in Miami-Dade and across the state, elevating from F's to A's and B's," said Carvalho. "And now, basically these rules will bring a lot of these schools back down even though students are learning at higher levels, and teachers are teaching at a much more effective level."
