Proposed ranking system would lower ‘grades’ of area school districts

Toledo Public schools like Byrnedale Elementary school would see their 'grades' drop under new system.

BLADE PHOTO

Schools like Byrnedale Elementary on Glendale Avenue could see their "grades" drop under new system.

Ohio’s bid to have requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act waived for the state includes a drastic change in how schools and districts would be rated.

The Ohio Department of Education has proposed a new evaluation system for its annual school report cards, ditching terms such as “academic emergency” and “continuous improvement” to describe school performance on an A through F scale. The proposed scale is considered more rigorous, and would drop all area schools considered “excellent” last year to a B, and plummet Toledo Public Schools from a C equivalent grade to an F.

The new system would combine four metrics into an overall grade for schools and districts. Those metrics include student test scores, attendance rates, measurements of student academic growth, and more.

Area school leaders said they welcomed the increased accountability. Still, some questioned both how the metrics are determined, and the timing of the new system.

“My concern is that the state is significantly raising the bar and also cutting funding,” TPS chief academic officer Jim Gault said.