ThisWeek CW 09/25/2014

http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2014/09/22/groveport-schools-earn-mostly-fs-on-report-card.html

When Ohio’s state report card standards were revamped in 2013, local and state school officials warned that the more stringent requirements would likely cause lower grades for some districts.

That prediction came true for Groveport Madison schools, which scored mostly F’s — plus a couple of C’s and a D — on the 2013-14 report cards released Sept. 12 by the Ohio Department of Education.

Superintendent Bruce Hoover acknowledged that seeing those grades was especially difficult, since his district had earned an “excellent” ranking for the third year in a row in 2011-12, before the requirements were changed.

“I think it’s hard going from excellent to seeing all these F’s, and that’s reflective of the standards being raised,” Hoover said. “With more than 40 percent of our kids at serious risk when they come into kindergarten, it’s a real challenge.”

Four components comprise the report cards: achievement, gap closing, progress and graduation rate.

The Groveport district earned a C for its four-year graduation rate of 85.2 percent and a D for its five-year graduation rate of 84.8 percent.

The achievement component of the report card has two elements: performance index, which is a measurement of how many students pass the state tests, and indicators met, showing how well students did on tests in areas such as reading, math, science, social studies and writing in specific grade levels.

Groveport’s performance index score was 74.2 percent, or a C.

The 24 state indicators measure the level of achievement for each student in a grade and subject. At least 80 percent of students must score “proficient” or better to get credit for the corresponding indicator, an increase over the previous benchmark score of 75 percent.

Groveport’s score of 29.2 percent on indicators met translated to an F grade. Students did not meet benchmarks for math and reading in grades 3-7, nor did they meet the indicator for fifth-grade and eighth-grade science. Students did score an 81 percent to meet the indicator for eighth-grade reading.

On the Ohio Graduation Test, high school sophomores met only one indicator, scoring 86.3 percent in reading; sophomores did not meet the benchmarks for math, science, writing and social studies.

High school juniors fared much better on the 2013-14 report card, meeting all indicators for math, science, reading, social studies and writing.

The district’s progress rating is based on value-added, which looks at how much each student learns in a year. Groveport received F’s in overall value-added and in value-added for gifted students, students with disabilities and students who rank in the lowest 20 percent achievement.

Gap closing measures how well all students are doing in reading, math and graduation rate. The Groveport district earned an F in gap closing with a score of 32.2 percent.

Hoover said the district has been focused on restructuring its programs since before the new ratings system was put in place, because officials were already “well aware” of the need to intervene early with at-risk students.

“This is why we’re looking to add a digital preschool option as early as next school year,” he said. “We’re restructuring our gifted students programs to keep them advancing and we’re building a better scaffolding for getting kids to accelerate their learning from elementary through middle school and then preparing for college after high school.”

One change the district hopes to implement next year is to offer students “career pathways” geared toward giving them a foundation for both college and career-readiness markets, beginning with four options, including: tactical and criminal justice, performing and visual arts, health and human services, and business and information technology.

“We own these scores and we know that overcoming the readiness issue has been a problem,” Hoover said. “We’re committed to following through with our restructuring plans, and with those items the voters asked for when they passed the levy, to prepare our students and to bring these scores up.”