Ohio Report Card: Here’s the state ratings for local school districts

Bellbrook High School students take AP computer science class in March 2022 with teacher Rob Schultz. FILE

Bellbrook High School students take AP computer science class in March 2022 with teacher Rob Schultz. FILE

Oakwood and Bellbrook-Sugarcreek schools again scored among the highest locally and in the state on Ohio’s report cards, which were released Monday.

Dayton Public Schools was the lowest performing local school district, receiving 2 stars. Dayton’s star rating is similar to last year and the year prior, but other districts, such as Springfield City Schools and Jefferson Twp. Local Schools, got significantly higher ratings this school year than prior years.

Jefferson Twp. got 2 stars, an increase from 1.5 the prior year, and Springfield got 2.5 stars, an increase from 2 stars last year.

Local districts receiving 5 stars included Oakwood, Bellbrook, Mason, Centerville, Miami East and Wayne Local.

The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce uses multiple data points from public schools to determine the districts’ ratings. The five categories that go into the overall rating are achievement, gap closing, early literacy, graduation and progress.

Achievement and progress are most heavily weighted into the equation. Achievement includes how students did on state testing, and progress is the statistical analysis used to measure academic growth of students from year to year, according to ODEW.

While five stars is the best a district can do, a district “meeting expectations” is a 3.5-3 star district. Below that rating, districts are considered to need state support to meet their goals.

Statewide, math scores are increasing, according to a report from ODEW released alongside the state report cards. The state noted chronic absenteeism, or the rate at which students are missing school, is also down compared to previous years.

However, reading scores appeared to have leveled off, with 60.4% of all Ohio students labeled as proficient in English Language arts, down from 60.9% last school year.

“Progress rarely occurs in a straight line,” said Ohio Department of Education and Workforce director Steve Dackin in a press release Monday. “As new initiatives take root, some measures may level off before advancing. But the data shows encouraging trends, and Ohio remains committed to using this information to guide decisions that put students first.”

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