MAKING THE GRADE: PORTAGE-AREA SCHOOLS RANKED IN 2013-14 STATE REPORT CARDS Standards increase from last year, Aurora tops Portage districts By Conner Howard | Staff writer Published: September 13, 2014 4:00AM Schools in Portage County showed mixed results in the latest Ohio Department of Education report cards, released Friday, with Aurora City Schools again topping the list with an A rating for standards met and a 91.8 performance index. Among other categories, the state report cards for the 2013-14 school year measure districts on 24 performance indicators based on state tests that measure the level of achievement for each student in a grade and subject. For a school district to score any given performance indicator, 80 percent of students must rate proficient or higher in the associated test. This is an increase from the 75 percent requirement in last years report cards. Districts also are measured on performance index, which measures the achievement of every student, not just whether they reach proficient. Schools receive points for every students level of achievement. The higher the students achievement level, the more points the school receives toward its index. Aurora schools met 24 of the 24 possible indicators, while earning top marks on all other letter-graded components, including performance index, overall value added, graduation rate and annual measurable objectives. According to ODE documents, the overall value added component measures a districts performance in state tests over multiple years to determine improvement. The annual measurable objectives component measures the academic performance of specific groups of students, including racial and income demographic groups. Looks like we are the only school district in Ohio that earned nine of nine As on the report card ... thats straight As! I cant tell you how excited I am, Aurora Superintendent Russ Bennett said Friday in an email to district staff. This is really something to celebrate. This is awesome news and something to be proud of. Kent City Schools met 22 of 24 indicators to earn a B, and scored an 84.9 percent performance index to earn a B. Superintendent George Joseph was unavailable for comment. In Rootstown, students met 21 of 24 indicators to earn a B, an earned a performance index of 85.4 percent, also a B. Superintendent Andrew Hawkins said the district will focus on improvement among sub-groups of students in the current school year. A quality education is provided in Rootstown schools, due to the staff, students, parents and community, Hawkins said. Weve identified the areas of focus this school year and are working diligently to achieve our goals. Crestwood schools met 20 out of 24 indicators to earn a B, and earned a performance index of 84 percent, also a B. Superintendent David Toth said improvement may have been slowed by the increase in indicator threshold from 75 to 80 percent, though the district has plans in place to keep up with the changing standards. Were happy with the showing. Were making progress, Toth said. I think we went down a little in achievement because they raised the benchmark. Were doing a lot of intervention for reading ... some different math teaching methods. James A. Garfield schools met 21 of 24 standards to earn a B, and earned a performance index of 86.1 percent, or a B. Superintendent Ted Lysiak said his district shows improvement, especially in the category of overall value added, where the district earned an A rating. Traditionally, we have had extremely good value-added numbers, Lysiak said. (Students) might have been far away last year, but this year theyre this close and you know next year theyre going to make it. The Ravenna School District met 12 of 24 indicators to earn a D, and earned a performance index of 77.4 percent, which translates to a C. Superintendent Dennis Honkala said there other were areas where the district saw achievement, such as A ratings in overall value added, disabled value added and lowest 20 percent value added. We had several successes, so were really excited about some of the successes and the gains that we made in various areas, Honkala said. By the same token, we know that we still have plenty of work to be done, but its good work, its rewarding work and its work thats beneficial to our students and to our community. Windham Exempted Village Schools met 12 of 24 indicators, earning a D, and earned a performance index of 78.6 percent, or a C. Superintendent Greg Isler could not be reached for comment. Students attending Streetsboro City Schools met 18 of 24 indicators to earn a C, and earned a performance index of 82 percent, or a B. The district scored an A in value added, but an F in annual measurable objectives. Overall, what we are most proud of was … our students growing, said Curriculum Director Aireane Curtis. Our biggest concern right now is the gap closing, she said. We did get an F in that, and were not happy with that at all. Curtis said when the tests move over to the Common Core standards next year, she expects the eighth-and fifth-grade science tests will include content learned that year, which should help student performance. I have an extremely high expectation that its going to improve when we move to grade-level specific science tests, she said. Waterloo schools met 19 of 24 standards for a for B, and earned a performance index of 82.5 percent, also a B. Superintendent Matthew Montgomery said the district showed considerable gains in the area of gap closing over last years report. Last year, we were at a D for annual measurable objectives and we really put that on the forefront of our district leadership team to make that a focus, Montgomery said. This year, Im proud to report that we increased that to a high B, 87.6 percent. Thats huge for us and Im so proud of our teachers and our administrators for putting that focus. Field schools met 20 of 24 indicators to earn a B, and earned an 83.7 percent performance index, also a B. Superintendent David Heflinger was not available for comment. Mogadore schools met 22 of 24 indicators to earn a B and scored a performance index of 83.4 percent, also a B. Superintendent Christine Dinklocker did not return calls for comment. Southeast schools scored 18 of 24 indicators to earn a C, and earned a performance index of 82.1 percent, or a B. Superintendent Tom Inchak did not return calls seeking comment. To see the Ohio Department of Education report cards for your district or school building, visit reportcard.education.ohio.gov
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 13:36:55 +0000
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