The Florida Department of Education released school and district grades Wednesday. Alachua County Public Schools maintained its overall B rating, and 13 schools exhibited a change in grades.
This year, Florida districts, high schools and combination schools faced stricter grading requirements, according to an ACPS press release. Combination schools serve students across grade-level categories, like elementary, middle or high school levels.
The FDOE is required by state law to increase the grading scale when 75% or more of schools in a grade-level category earn an A or B rating.
Despite this stricter grading scale, the district maintained its B grade, and Oak View Middle School, a combination school that serves fifth through eighth grade students, improved from a B to an A school.
Other combination schools like Hawthorne Middle/High School and High Springs Community School remained the same.
But Oak View’s elementary school counterpart, Newberry Elementary School, dropped from a B to a C school.
Starting next school year, Oak View Middle School will expand to a pre-K through eighth grade school. Students who once attended Newberry Elementary School will either go to Oak View K-8 School or Newberry Community School, a newly established charter school.
Grade adjustments were not restricted to Newberry Schools — 11 other schools in the district experienced similar changes.
Elementary schools
Across elementary schools districtwide, there were three A schools, seven B schools, six C schools, three D schools and one F school. While eight schools experienced a grade change, 12 schools remained consistent in their gradings.
While this year the district saw grade changes among eight elementary schools, 10 schools experienced change in 2025. Last year, five schools improved their grade while five dropped in rating.
This year, the number of schools with declining grades remains the same, but the number of schools with grade improvements dropped to three.
Among those that saw improvement were Archer (C to B), Shell (D to C) and Foster (D to C) Elementary Schools.
Foster Elementary School closed at the end of the 2025-26 school year as a part of the district’s rezoning plan, known as “Our Schools — Future Ready.” The plan seeks to right size and consolidate schools so they operate at capacity.
In addition to Newberry’s grade decline, Lake Forest (C to D), Littlewood (A to B), Metcalfe (C to D) and Rawlings (C to F) experienced grade drops.
Rawlings Elementary School was among those proposed for closure during the district’s rezoning process, which lasted a little over a month from the first draft of maps to the vote in March. Ultimately, the board voted to keep Rawlings open.
Middle schools
This year, two middle schools received an A grade, two received a B grade and two received a C grade. No schools received a D or an F.
In 2025, three middle schools improved their grades, and one school declined in rating. This year, the number of drops remained the same, but the number of improvements declined from three to one.
Lincoln Middle School improved from a B to an A school.
It is set to become a combination school serving kindergarten through eighth grade at the start of the 2028-29 school year. The change will alter its grading scale to the same one Oak View currently faces.
While Lincoln saw improvements, Kanapaha Middle School dropped from an A to a B school.
Still, the overall rating of middle schools matches that of last year, with two schools each in the A, B and C categories.
High schools
Florida high schools faced a stricter grading scale this school year, causing two local schools to drop in rating.
In 2025, three high schools saw grade improvements, and no schools experienced grade drops.
This year’s harder grading scale caused two high schools to experience grade declines and none to see improvements.
In 2025, Gainesville High School managed to go from a B to an A school. With higher thresholds this year, the school was unable to maintain its A standing and dropped to a B school.
The same goes for Eastside High School. In 2025, the school improved from a C to a B school. However, the school dropped back to a C school this year.
The four remaining schools experienced no change despite facing a higher grading scale.
Overall, two high schools received an A grade, three received a B and one received a C. No high schools received a D or F.
Despite the grading changes throughout the district, its overall standing remains comparable to last year.
In 2025, the district had four D schools and no F schools. This year, the district had three D schools and one F school — with changes happening exclusively at the elementary school level. The distribution of grades at the middle and high school level experienced little change this year.
Contact Grace Larson at glarson@alligator.org. Follow her on X @graceellarson.
Grace Larson is a second-year journalism student and this summer's metro editor. She previously worked as city/county commission reporter and K-12 education reporter for The Alligator. When she's not editing stories, Grace enjoys running, weightlifting and going on random side quests. If she's not at her desk, you can find her at any place offering free food and crafts.
