This paper provides information about the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test[R] (FCAT). The purpose of the exam is to: (1) Determine prospective high school graduates' mastery of the state curriculum; (2) Encourage districts and schools to identify and serve students at risk of academic failure; (3) Provide data to state policymakers on student…

This Information Capsule answers the most frequently asked questions about M-DCPS' academic performance during the 2011-2012 school year. Over the past year, the Florida Department of Education made over 28 changes to the school grading formula, including the transition to new, more rigorous assessments, new accountability components, and…

This article reports on a student option to earn a high school diploma from a Maine private school. Frustrated in their attempts to pass the state graduation test and receive high school diplomas, some Florida students are securing the prized credentials by a different route: a private school in Lewiston, Maine. For many of those students,…

Miami-Dade County Public Schools invested in an intensive, three-year program to improve the learning of students in its 39 lowest-performing schools. Known as the Zone, these schools experienced mixed success, with elementary schools reducing the gap between various groups of students while middle and high schools were less successful. However,…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2009 and 2010. Summary data for the district are also provided.…

Now that all 50 states and the District of Columbia are building statewide longitudinal data systems, the next step is to ensure that the information in these systems is used to improve student learning. The Data Quality Campaign (DQC) has identified 10 actions that states can take to ensure that the right data are available and accessible and…

The State of Florida Department of Education provides pre-and-post-graduation data for public high school graduates throughout Florida. These data were used for the present report to produce data sets for all M-DCPS regular high schools and charter high schools graduating students in 2008 and 2009. Summary data for the district are also provided.…