South Florida school districts have again achieved A ratings after their students showed improvement on state test scores, according to data released this week by the Florida Department of Education.
Palm Beach and Broward counties received the top grade for the third year in a row. Miami-Dade County’s A rating for the 2025-26 school year is its seventh since 2018. Monroe County’s A-rating is its second in two consecutive years.
The state determines a district's letter grade based on multiple factors, including student performance on state tests, graduation rates and students' performance on advanced coursework. And this year the state adopted a new scoring system to catalogue districts by the letter grades.
The district grades are compiled of district-run and charter schools, which are publicly funded and privately run.
For the 2025-26 school year, 76% of Florida’s traditional public schools earned an A or B rating, up from 71% last year. Among charter schools in the state, 78% earned an A or B.
"While charter school students continue to outperform, it is evident that competition is creating a better product for our traditional public school students," said Florida Commissioner of Education Anastasios Kamoutsas in a post on X.
With an increase in more school choice options for parents, the competition stakes are higher for school districts.
It's a rivalry Miami-Dade County Superintendent Jose Dotres has embraced.
"We have the best product to offer. This community is blessed by having exemplary, very, very, strong public schools," he said at a press conference on Wednesday.
From 2023 to this past school year, the district saw an average of 6% to 17% increase across grade levels and subjects. At the top of the increase were English Language Arts proficiency among 6th and 7th graders, both groups achieving a 17% jump in three school years.
In the complete block of 3rd to 10th graders, the jump over three years was 13%. In math for the same group, it was 11%. Civics and U.S. history were 11% and 10%, respectively.
Districts across the state, including South Florida's, are also operating under a stressful financial situation as Tallahassee allots fewer dollars because of plummeting enrollment in public schools.
Despite that, Dotres is determined to keep striving for success, even as his tenure winds to an end.
" We are one of the most successful urban school districts in this nation," he said, "and these results are clearly stated. We have a record of seven As and that is difficult to find across the state."
READ MORE: Students in South Florida schools see test score improvements
School Board Chair Mari Tere Rojas was also at Wednesday's press conference.
"...Teachers truly do God's work on Earth each and every single day, and they have done a remarkable job regardless of the challenges that we have confronted," she said.
No district-run schools received a D or F rating.
Broward County
Broward County Public Schools, the sixth biggest district in the country, earned an A rating for the third year in a row.
“This is an incredible accomplishment that reflects our continued commitment to academic excellence and student success,” said Superintendent Howard Hepburn. “This milestone is the result of years of intentional work, collaboration and an unwavering focus on helping every student succeed."
The state report also showed that 129 district-run schools earned A grades and 83 others earned B and C grades. No schools received a D or F rating for the third consecutive year.
“This demonstrates that the academic excellence at [the district] is no longer a goal. It is our culture, and it is our expectation,” Broward School Board Vice Chairman Jeff Holness said at a news conference Wednesday.
Ten schools went from a C last year to an A this year. However, seven high schools were rated lower than last year, earning a C after being an A or B.
North Fork Elementary in Fort Lauderdale, which the board voted to shutter, received its first-ever A grade.
Palm Beach County
For Palm Beach County, the district's A rating "reflects our ongoing commitment to sparking academic success and helping every student ignite their future,” Superintendent Mike Burke said in a statement.
Burke thanked teachers, district staff, parents and students for their commitment, but he also thanked voters for supporting public schools through property taxes, which supports arts programming, campus security, modern facilities and more.
"With our voters' continued investment in our public schools, we can sustain this momentum and remain the best choice for education in Palm Beach County," he said.
More than half of the district's elementary schools received an A rating. And the graduation rate was "record-setting," the statement said, at 93.5%.
Monroe County
“This ‘A’ rating is especially meaningful because it was earned in a year when the state raised the bar for excellence,” said Superintendent Edward Tierney in a statement. “Rather than being discouraged by higher expectations, our students, teachers, staff, and families rose to meet them... I couldn’t be prouder of what we have accomplished together, and this recognition affirms that when expectations rise, so do we.”
ELA test scored increased from 59% to 61% of students being proficient. The graduation rate in the district climbed from 88% to 93%.
Poinciana Elementary School celebrated its third consecutive A. Plantation Key School also received an A.
Horace O’Bryant School in Key West received a C "while still showing areas of improvement," the statement said. Key West High School earned a C grade; last year it received a B.
