Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Sunshine State
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Florida's English learner graduation gap narrowed to just 4 points during COVID assessment waivers, then blew back to 14.3 points when requirements returned. The V-shaped pattern raises hard questions about assessment policy.
Polk County's chronic absenteeism rate has more than doubled since 2018, with 50,277 of 128,510 students now missing 10% or more of school.
Putnam County's graduation rate climbed 27.6 points in eight years, from 63.6% to 91.2%, with students with disabilities improving by 53.5 points. The rural North Florida district now exceeds the state average.
Every Florida district with data on both sides of the pandemic had a higher chronic absenteeism rate in 2023-24 than in 2018-19, including every large urban system. Hendry County's apparent recovery comes from how an online school records attendance.
Florida students with disabilities graduated at 86.8% in 2024, closing a 19-point gap with the overall rate to just 2.9 points. The improvement is among the most dramatic special education gains in any state.
Chronic absenteeism in Gadsden County surged from 15.3% to 56.0% between 2018 and 2024, the most dramatic deterioration of any Florida district.
Florida's graduation rate reached a record 89.7% in 2024, eclipsing the pre-COVID high after a sharp post-waiver correction in 2022. The largest cohort in state history produced nearly 195,000 graduates.
976,305 Florida students missed 10% or more of school in 2023-24, up 55% from pre-COVID levels. The cumulative toll since the pandemic: 1.1 million excess student-years.
Jacksonville's school district recorded a 44.8% chronic absenteeism rate in 2023-24 — the highest ever and the worst among Florida's large districts.
Florida's chronic absenteeism rate sits at 31.4%, barely below its pandemic peak. At the current pace, the state won't return to pre-COVID levels until 2048.
Florida K enrollment fell 12.1% since 2015. The state now graduates 42,930 more students than it enrolls in kindergarten each year.
Pasco County added students every year for a decade. In 2026, the streak broke with a loss of 350, a sign Florida's growth corridors have hit a ceiling.
Only 37% of Florida districts have returned to 2019 enrollment. Recovery peaked in 2023 and is now reversing, with the largest districts hit hardest.
Florida's only majority-Black county lost 27.1% of enrollment since 2015, the steepest decline of any sizable district in the state.
More than half of Florida school districts now enroll fewer white students than students of color, a threshold crossed in 2025.
