Two Manatee County high schools earn A on FCAT

Two of five Manatee County public high schools have earned A grades on the 2010-2011 FCAT.

Both Braden River and Lakewood Ranch High Schools' scored dropped from A's to B's, although both schools earned enough points to qualify for an A grade. In fact, Lakewood Ranch and Braden River scored the highest number of total points out of all seven district schools, with Lakewood Ranch scoring 1,249 points out of a possible 1600 and Braden River scoring 1,174 points.

Manatee County School District officials say the grade drop occurred because the schools did not meet specific criteria regarding the performance of "at-risk" students. Lakewood did not have a high enough graduation rate for at-risk students, while Braden River did not make 50% or more in learning gains in reading and math among the lowest quartile of students.

Half a high school's grade is based on performance on the FCAT, while the remaining 50% is based on factors such as graduation rate, the postsecondary readiness of students measured by various college placement exams and more.

In Manatee County, only Manatee High School and Manatee School for the Arts earned A grades.