Local districts show some improvements, some losses – 

Story by Patricia Beech – 
Photo by Mark Carpenter – 

The Ohio Department of Education released its annual state eport card for schools and school districts on Thursday, Sept. 14.
The report cards attempt to give communities an assessment of the progress their schools are making in six categories of performance: Achievement; Progress; Gap Closing; Graduation Rate; K-3 Literacy; and Prepared for Success.
Districts and schools received A-F grades on each of the six components and most of the individual measures.
The Ohio Valley School District (OVSD) and the Manchester Local School District (MLSD) each earned a D on their Overall Achievement – the same grade both districts earned on last year’s report. The Achievement score, which measures how well students perform on state tests, consists of two assessments – the Performance Index, which tells how well students performed on overall tests, and the Indicators Met which represents the share of students meeting proficiency standards.
In 2017, 80 percent of students must meet the standard for their district to be designated as proficient. MLSD raised their Performance Index rom a D to a C, and received an F for Indicators Met. The OVSD Performance Index grade was a D and the Indicators Met grade was an F, both were unchanged from the previous year.
In the Progress component, which measures the growth that students are making based on their past performances, MLSD received an A while OVSD’s grade dropped from a B to a D. The Progress component is based on Overall Value Added (MLSD – A; OVSD – F), Value Added for Gifted Students (MLSD – Not Rated; OVSD – B), the lowest 20 percent (MLSD – A; OVSD – C), and for Students with Disabilities (MLSD – B; OVSD – F).
“In my opinion, the two most important things in a school district are graduating students and whether students are learning what we’re instructing,” said first-year MLSD Superintendent Brian Rau. “The two components that gauge that are the Graduation component, for which we received an A, and the Value Added progress component for which we received an A, and a B for our Students with Disabilities – so on the two things that are most important to me, we performed very well.”
The Graduation Rate scores for both districts remained unchanged with MLSD receiving an A and OVSD receiving a B.
In the Prepared for Success assessment both districts dropped one letter grade from a D to an F. The Prepared for Success component looks at how well prepared students are to enter either college or the job market. College entrance exam scores, honors diplomas, industry-recognized credentials, advanced placement tests scores, International Baccalaureate tests scores, and College Credit Plus credits all contribute to the Prepared for Success grades.
In the K-3 Literacy component of the report card, which measures how successful a school is at getting struggling readers on track to proficiency in third grade and beyond, the OVSD score raised from an F to a C, and the MLSD score changed from Not Rated to a B.
Both districts received an F for the Gap Closing component which measures how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for the most challenged students in English language arts, math and graduation.
To view the district state report card go to reportcard.education.ohio.gov.