Conotton Valley leads area districts in all categories

The 2024 Ohio School Report Cards, which highlight the achievement of districts and schools across the state and their efforts to prepare students for the future, were released last week.

Districts and schools receive overall ratings of 1-5 stars in half-star increments. Three stars mean districts are meeting state standards. More than three indicates the district is exceeding state standards and below three stars means districts are not meeting standards.

This year, nearly 90% of districts earned overall ratings of three stars or higher, meaning they met state expectations for performance.

Districts and schools also receive star ratings in the categories of achievement, progress, gap closing, early literacy and graduation. Additionally, report cards include student-level proficiency rates based on the results of Ohio’s State Tests in English language arts, math, science and social studies. Notably this year, English language arts proficiency showed significant improvement among elementary students, climbing in third grade (2.2%), fourth grade (5.2%), and fifth grade (3.1%).

“Our teachers continue to make great strides in building reading skills for students, and we believe we have the opportunity to continue improving in this area once all schools in Ohio become fully aligned with the Science of Reading,” said Governor Mike DeWine. “We know the Science of Reading works because we know now exactly how the brain learns to read. This is especially important for our young children, because the earlier they are able to master reading, the better positioned they will be for success in every subject throughout their education.”

The report cards also include a report-only College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness (CCWMR) component, which measures how prepared the graduating class is to go on to postsecondary education, enter the workforce, or join the armed forces. Governor DeWine noted that this year’s CCWMR results showed that the percentage of students who earned an industry-recognized credential increased from 10.6% for the Class of 2022 to 19.5% for the Class of 2023.

Next year, the category will be included in the results.

What are the categories?

ACHIEVEMENT represents the district’s performance on state tests and if they met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall.

PROGRESS indicates how much progress students made from one year to the next. 

GAP CLOSING evaluated the performance of student groups who often struggle, such as students learning English. It also evaluates whether students in these groups have met the four-year graduation goal.

GRADUATION applies to students in the class of 2023 who graduated within four years. These are students who entered ninth grade in the fall of 2019 and graduated in 2023.

EARLY LITERACY measures how well the lower grades are doing in reading and includes the percentage of third graders who passed the reading portion of the English language arts test. 

State officials noted the overall graduation rates are the highest they have been in more than a decade, with 87.9% of the 2023 student cohort graduating within four years and 89.1% of the 2022 student cohort graduating within five years.

The report cards also show an improvement in student attendance, with chronic absenteeism rates declining from the previous year, from 26.8% to 25.6%.

“Ohio’s school leaders, educators, staff and families are dedicated to helping all students, and we’re seeing the results of their efforts with the progress made in early literacy, reduction in chronic absence, increased graduation rates and the near doubling of students earning industry-recognized credentials,” said Director Dackin. “We have work to do in math and middle and high school literacy. This work is urgent because there are significant numbers of students who need additional learning supports. We remain resolute in our efforts to make sure every Ohio student is prepared for success.” 

How did local district fair on the report card?

Carrollton Exempted Village Schools

Overall: 3.5

Achievement: 3

Gap closing: 3

Early Literacy: 3

Progress: 3

Graduation: 4

Performance Index: 82.8

“Overall, I am pleased with the results from the 2023-2024 report card, but there definitely are areas where we can improve.,” said Carrollton Schools Superintendent Dave Davis. “I’d like to thank the students, parents, teachers and staff members who worked hard to achieve these results.  While our chronic absenteeism rate got a little better this year, we still have too many students missing too much school.  The goal for all students would be to average no more than one day per month absent.  If we could improve on our attendance data, I believe other areas on the report card would improve as well.  Our graduation rate – possibly the most important data on the report card – shows that over 95% of our students earn a diploma in four years.  While I don’t believe that the state report card measures what students actually learn in the classroom, we will continue to work hard to decrease absences, maintain our graduation rate and increase other areas to meet the state’s criteria.”

Brown Local Schools

Overall: 3.5

Achievement: 3

Gap closing: 2

Early Literacy: 4

Progress: 2

Graduation: 5

“We have made growth and have much to celebrate,” said Brown Local Superintendent Mark Scott. “We will also use this data to set goals and identify areas for improvement. 

We are excited to share that we increased our overall district rating this year from 3.0 Stars to 3.5 Stars. We scored 100% on graduation rate, earning 5 Stars, and increased our early literacy score to 4.0 Stars! While we are incredibly proud of our growth, we also know that the district report card is just one measure of what we do as a school district and community every day. We are working to educate the Whole Child, offering a balanced education to help each child reach their potential and grow in all areas. I am very proud of all our students, staff and families.”

Minerva Local Schools

Overall: 4

Achievement: 3

Gap closing: 4

Early Literacy: 4

Progress: 3

Graduation: 4

Performance Index: 86.8

“Minerva Local Schools continues to show improvement across the board,” said Superintendent Gary Chaddock. “The district puts an emphasis on educating the whole-student including both the social-emotional and academic aspects of a student. This aligns with Minerva’s vision of educating all students and continues to focus on “Every Child, Every Minute, Every Day!

“On behalf of the staff and students of Minerva Local, we are thrilled to announce that the district has once again achieved a four-star rating on the State report card. This accomplishment reflects our ongoing commitment to excellence. We continue to focus on making targeted improvements in key areas to ensure we build on our success.”

Conotton Valley

Overall: 4.5

Achievement: 4

Gap Closing: 5

Early Literacy: 4

Progress: 5

Graduation: 4

“I am extremely pleased with and proud of our district’s performance on the Ohio State Report Card as we once again were awarded 4.5 Stars for our efforts,” commented Conotton Valley Superintendent John Zucal. “For the second consecutive year, we have attained the highest report card score in the tri-county (Tuscarawas, Carroll, and Harrison counties) area.  We are extremely pleased with attaining 5 Stars in the progress and gap closing components. The progress component looks closely at the growth all students are making based on their past performances.  The gap closing component is a measure of the reduction in educational gaps for student sub-groups. Most importantly, this report card is reflective of the commitment and dedication of our amazing educators in supporting our young people in realizing the fullness of their human potential. Behind every score is the face of a child who deserves nothing less than our best!”