Laurel Hill School, Ocean City Elementary School, Fort Walton Beach High and Crestview High earned B’s. All district charter schools achieved the highest school grade possible for their program.

According to Superintendent of Schools Alexis Tibbetts, the Fort Walton and Crestview high schools greatly exceeded the number of points required to earn an A, but did not receive an A grade because the lowest quartile of students did not make adequate learning gains in reading.

"We have begun to address this issue by hiring literacy coaches in the high schools," she said.

She said the fact that Laurel Hill School and Ocean City Elementary School received B’s confirms the research that schools with higher percentages of economically disadvantaged students often demonstrate lower achievement.

"We are addressing this issue in schools and at the district level as we begin our work in closing this achievement gap of low socio-economic students," said Tibbetts.

With 90 percent of Okaloosa schools earning an A rating, the district was second only to Gilchrist County, a district with four schools, all of which achieved an A, placing them at 100 percent and first in performance statewide. Of the eight school districts designated high performing by the state of Florida, Okaloosa County outdistanced them all with the exception of Gilchrist.