School districts in the greater Tampa Bay region are boasting about their 2025 school grades.
Pinellas and Sarasota counties were the only districts in the area to earn an overall A grade. Hernando, Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk and Manatee earned B's.
Florida grades each district-managed and charter school at the elementary, middle and high school levels, based on state test scores in English, math, science and social studies.
The grading also considers graduation rates and students taking advanced classes, such as a middle schooler passing a high school course.
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District grades are essentially an average of the schools’ scores, said Gina Michalicka, assistant superintendent of the Hernando County School District.
But the grading doesn’t consider other factors that a school or district could be improving.
“There's also all of the things that happen in the classroom every single day,” Michalicka said. “So whether it's summative assessments, formative assessments, behavior, attendance, the culture in the classroom, the climate, athletics, fine arts.”
School grades and state testing are some of the data points that drive planning during the summer. But Polk Superintendent Fred Heid said he knows his district is more than a letter score.
"The grade is the grade,” Heid said. “It can either be a scarlet letter or it can be a celebration. … But I would argue that B doesn't give everyone a full understanding of all the great things happening in our classrooms or our schools everyday."
Polk
Polk was the only county in the region to improve its grade, jumping from C to B.
Heid said the grade doesn’t consider the student experience, such as field trips that expose students to places they otherwise wouldn’t see.
Still, he’s happy with the improvement.
"We've been on a very positive trajectory, seeing our reading scores improve, our school grades improve. We haven't had an F school in three years. We've almost eliminated all of our D-rated schools,” Heid said. “So it's a systemic approach."
Hernando
Michalicka said she expects the district to finally make the jump from B to A grade next year since it is only around 30 points away. This year, it improved 33 points.
She said this is a combination of monitoring test scores and making necessary changes.
One focus for the upcoming school year will be improving math scores, a common goal among Tampa Bay area districts.
Sarasota
Sarasota County earned an A for the 22nd year in a row.
Superintendent Terry Connor said the score reflects his district’s focus on “data-driven decision-making” and “evidence-based practices to meet student needs.”
"It's more than a letter grade — it shows what happens when people stay focused, push forward and work together,” Connor said in a news release. “We're using this as fuel to keep improving."
Pinellas
Pinellas earned its second consecutive A this year, with 89% of its schools earning an A or B.
Thirty of the district's 131 schools improved their grades. No school scored below C.
“Earning a district grade of an A shows the strength and commitment of our students, teachers and staff members, as well as the unwavering support of our (school) board, families and the community,” Superintendent Kevin Hendrick said in a news release.
Hillsborough
The county maintained its B grade, which has not changed since it fell from an A in 2016.
In a news release, Superintendent Van Ayres said he wants the district to build on its momentum by focusing on progress monitoring.
Around 20% of the district’s schools improved their grades, with 88 of the 260 schools earning an A.
Pasco
Nineteen Pasco schools improved their grades, with three jumping two grades.
But Superintendent John Legg said he’s keeping an eye on those where grades dropped.
that fell in rankings.
“We don’t shy away from hard conversations,” Legg said in a news release. “We see these shifts in grades not as failures but as a call to action.”
Manatee
Nearly half of Manatee's schools earned an A, with nine schools improving their grades.
Only two schools earned a D, compared with four last year.
