Educators explain slip in state report card ratings

Tammy Garrison, a fifth-grade teacher at Stranahan Elementary in Sylvania Township, talks to her students about an upcoming book they will read. THE BLADE/AMY E. VOIGT Enlarge | Photo Reprints

For Sylvania, Archbold, and Evergreen schools, seeing their top-notch "excellent with distinction" rating dip to "excellent" on the latest state report card was disappointing but not devastating.

"We understand that when you're academically strong, you have to work a lot harder to maintain that strength," Archbold Superintendent Dave Deskins said.

Several high-performing districts in Ohio found themselves victims of their own success when report cards were released Aug. 27. While the districts' students performed well on state proficiency tests, students did not improve as much as expected to meet what's called the value-added measure.

That was the case for Sylvania City Schools.

"We didn't get the top designation, but our metrics remain strong," Sylvania Superintendent Brad Rieger said. "We've been rated excellent or higher for the past five years and more importantly the enthusiasm and achievements of Sylvania students and staff are remarkable."

Fourth through eighth-graders made a full year of progress, Mr. Rieger said, but did not clear the state's bar for annual improvement.

"To get 'distinction' you need to get above, which means kids are making more than a year's progress," Mr. Rieger explained. "…We achieved at a high level, but the only aspect we didn't replicate from the last two years is in value-added, in getting above the designation versus just meeting it."

In Archbold, Mr. Deskins said the district recently landed a $340,000 grant that will allow it to offer an after-school program for at-risk sixth, seventh, and eighth graders during the next three years. He is hoping that will enable the district to focus on areas where some students struggle.

"We have an outstanding set of teachers in this district. We have kids that are incredible - their work ethic is amazing," Mr. Des-

kins said. "We take note of the data. We want to look at the items on the analysis where we haven't performed as well."

The state takes several factors into consideration in grading school districts on the job they're doing. In addition to standardized student testing, districts are graded on attendance and graduation rates, by how much students improve from year to year, and by what's called "adequate yearly progress" for certain subgroups of students, such as minorities, disabled students, and those who are economically disadvantaged.

Evergreen Superintendent Jim Wyse said that like Sylvania, his district achieved 26 out of 26 indicators on the state report card, but did not achieve value-added status.

"We're excited to be excellent, excited to pass every indicator we had," Mr. Wyse said. "All of our subgroups made adequate yearly progress, which is difficult to do."

Both Ottawa Hills and Wauseon schools maintained the state's top grade - excellent with distinction, while Pettisville remained in the excellent category and Swanton maintained its effective rating.

Pike-Delta-York Local Schools fell a notch - from excellent to effective.

Superintendent Robin Rayfield said his district missed excellent "by a very narrow margin, maybe three or four kids spread out over 12 grades and one question each."

For small districts, lower performances by just a handful of students can make a difference in the district's overall score.

In Fayette, Superintendent Russell Griggs said two students' scores on the fifth-grade math test and one seventh grader's math score were part of the reason his district fell from excellent to effective. The school had 46 fifth graders and just 37 seventh graders.

"We're disappointed we slipped down, but our goal is to get back up for next year," he said. "People are already all over it, into the data analysis, looking at standards. With the material they get back, they can zero in on what areas of the standards they didn't accomplish."

He said Fayette has much to be proud of, including a 100 percent high school graduation rate.

Complete report cards by district are online at toledoblade.com or reportcard.ohio.gov.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at jfeehan@theblade.com

or 419-724-6129.