How did your district do on the latest state report card?

The Ohio Department of Education released 2018-19 report cards for school districts in September. Districts get letter grades on key components of their performance – including achievement on tests, graduation rates and year-over-year student growth. The report card also contains detailed background data in each of those categories, supporting the grades.

MORE ON REPORT CARDS

• State report card slideshow: Highs and lows for local districts

• Many area school districts get lower grades on state report card

• Oakwood earns lone local ‘A,’ Dayton rises to ‘D’ on state report card

• With Ohio report cards coming out today, few agree on how to evaluate schools

• Last year's grades: How did your school perform on the 2017-18 state report card?

EXPLAINING THE GRADES 

  • Achievement:Grades schools primarily based on their state test scores. Performance index is weighted 75 percent, and "indicators met" is the other 25 percent. There are 23 state exams (indicators) plus three other indicators based on absenteeism, test retakes and gifted student performance.
  • Performance index:A subset of Achievement, this is the most detailed measure of state test performance. It goes deeper than just proficiency, giving more credit for the highest performers and less credit for lowest scorers.
  • Progress:Judges whether students made one year's worth of academic growth from last school year. Based in part on what statewide percentile students and schools score in each year.
  • Gap closing (AMOs):Reports whether each subgroup of students (by race, economics, disability, etc.) narrowed achievement gaps when compared with the student body as a whole.
  • Graduation rate:Shows diplomas earned within four or five years of starting ninth grade. The four-year rate measures students who would have normally become the class of 2018. The five-year rate measures the class of 2017.
  • Improving at-risk K-3 readers:Measures what percentage of struggling young readers get back on track to proficiency by the third grade. Some schools with very few students scoring below grade level are not graded on this measure.
  • Prepared for Success:Tries to measure how well prepared students are for the future, via ACT/SAT scores, honors diplomas, industry credentials and participation in college credit-bearing programs.

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