Florida's A-to-F report cards for 2026 show a clear bump at the top of the scale, with more campuses snagging better marks and breaking out of a recent performance plateau. Parents, educators, and even real-estate watchers are already poring over the spreadsheets to see what the shift says about classroom gains and neighborhood appeal.
Statewide Results at a Glance
The latest report cards show a noticeable rise in high marks: 76% of graded public schools earned an A or B, up from 71% last year, and the share of straight A's climbed to 51% from 44%, according to the Orlando Sentinel. Those shifts push large swaths of the state into a higher performance band and are already reshaping how districts and parents size up progress.
Numbers and Trends Behind the Headlines
The Department graded 3,428 public schools this year. D grades fell from 61 to 24 and F grades from nine to seven, according to the Florida Department of Education. The bottom of the curve is thinning out, even if it has not disappeared.
Central Florida Districts See Gains
Several Central Florida districts rode the upswing. Orange, Seminole, and Lake counties all earned district A's, while Osceola landed a B, per reporting by the Orlando Sentinel. District leaders welcomed the bragging rights but stressed that the real work still happens campus by campus, especially on learning gains and outcomes for specific student groups.
What State Leaders Are Saying
The state reported that, for the first time, more than 60% of students tested reached or exceeded grade level on key math and reading exams, a milestone highlighted in the announcement. In a statement, Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas thanked teachers and parents: "I want to thank our teachers and parents for the important work they do each day to help students achieve their full potential. These results are worth celebrating, but they also challenge us to continue raising the bar," as noted by the Orlando Sentinel.
How to Read the Grades
Florida's school grades are driven largely by student performance on statewide exams in math, reading, science, and social studies, along with points for yearly learning gains and, at the high school level, graduation and acceleration measures. Because the formula rewards both proficiency and improvement, districts can lift grades by raising passing rates and accelerating growth among lower-performing students. While the A-to-F snapshot is a quick gauge used by families and real-estate professionals, education leaders caution that it does not capture every classroom nuance.
Districts now move into the routine appeals window and will publish detailed school-by-school breakdowns in the coming days, giving families a closer look at where gains occurred and where challenges remain. Educators say they will be digging into subgroup and learning-gain data to turn broad letter-grade improvements into sustained classroom progress.
