Fla. teachers earn good marks on evaluations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Nearly 98 percent of Florida's classroom teachers are "effective" or "highly effective" according to ratings released by state officials.

The ratings released Tuesday are part of the state's contentious evaluation system that was first passed by state legislators two years ago.

Only 306 teachers -- out of nearly 190,000 across the state -- were given "unsatisfactory" rankings.

This year's ratings are very similar to ones released in 2012.

But the scores varied widely among districts. Some districts reported they had as many as eight times the number of highly effective teachers as other districts.

When asked about the discrepancy, state education officials said local districts have flexibility over deciding how to evaluate teachers.

The evaluations have come under fire, because part of the evaluations is based on test scores.

WFTV