By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City School District saw its overall state report card grade drop from a B to a C this year. Other districts in Wood County also saw a drop, including Perrysburg from an A to a B, and Otsego from a B to a C.
Lake School District was the only local district to improve its overall grade – from a D to a C.
The state released its school report cards Thursday morning – a moment that many districts await with great anxiety. The grades are based on standardized tests, and look at student achievement, progress from one year to the next, closing gaps, graduation rates, improving education for at-risk young students, and preparing students for success.
Angie Schaal, who took over as executive director of teaching and learning with Bowling Green City Schools on Aug. 1, said the state report card shows some successes and some areas where more attention should be focused.
“The metric is always changing,” she said of the statewide standards. “We’re always aiming for a moving target.”
Schaal emphasized the district’s grade of A in the area of progress.
“We’re doing good things” for all students – including gifted and talented students, struggling students, and students with disabilities. “That’s important data.”
The grade for “gap closing” dropped from a B to a D.
“We’re doing a lot of work with equity,” Schaal said. “That’s one we want to look at a little more deeply.”
The grade for improving at-risk readers in K-3 grades remained at a D.
“That’s one of the areas we are definitely looking to make some changes in,” she said.
Two years ago, Bowling Green received a B for helping at-risk readers. But school officials said the grade dipped last year when the district worked to identify more students who could benefit from reading help. Curriculum staff felt the low grade punished the district for spreading the net wider to help more students.
Based on the progress grade, Schaal said the district will likely receive the state’s “Momentum Award” for the third year in a row. But she knows that some parents would prefer higher grade card scores from the state.
“Of course, this is what the public sees,” she said, assuring that the drop from an overall B to C grade is not reflective of the district’s efforts. “We’re still working just as hard with kids, and we have the same great teachers.”
“These grades are only a snapshot. This is how they did on one day,” Schaal said.
Schaal stressed that Bowling Green City Schools offers nine Advanced Placement classes and has many students taking credit-plus college courses.
“Our kids compete and go into Ivy League schools,” she said. “We have a lot of amazing things happening that don’t necessarily show up on these scores.”
The state report cards also rank school districts by the percentage of school funds that are spent on classroom instruction. In Bowling Green, that is 70.2 percent. When ranked with other school districts of similar size, Bowling Green came in 34th out of 111 – with 1 being the highest percentage spent on classroom instruction. The average in the state for schools is 67.7 percent spent on classroom instruction.
Following are the grades given to the district, a breakdown of school buildings in the district, and a list of overall grades for other school districts in Wood County.
Bowling Green City Schools
Achievement – D: Measures if student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall. A new indicator measures chronic absenteeism. Last year’s grade: C
Progress – A: The growth that all students are making based on their past performances. Last year’s grade: A
Gap closing – D: How well schools are meeting performance expectations for the most vulnerable students in English language arts, math and graduation. It also measures how schools are doing in helping English learners to become proficient in English. Last year’s grade: B
Graduation rate – B: The percent of students who are successfully finishing high school with a diploma in four or five years. Last year’s grade: A
Improving at-risk K-3 readers – D: How successful the school is at getting struggling readers on track to proficiency in third grade and beyond. Last year’s grade: D
Prepared for success – D: Whether training in a technical field or preparing for work or college, this looks at how well prepared students are for all future opportunities. Last year’s grade: D
Individual buildings in the district
Bowling Green High School
- Overall: C
- Achievement: C
- Progress: B
- Gap closing: D
- Graduation rate: B
- Improving at-risk K-3 readers: NR
- Prepared for success: D
Bowling Green Middle School
- Overall: B
- Achievement: C
- Progress: A
- Gap closing: B
- Graduation rate: NR
- Improving at-risk K-3 readers: NR
- Prepared for success: NR
Conneaut Elementary School
- Overall: C
- Achievement: C
- Progress: C
- Gap closing: B
- Graduation rate: NR
- Improving at-risk K-3 readers: D
- Prepared for success: NR
Crim Elementary School
- Overall: D
- Achievement: D
- Progress: C
- Gap closing: F
- Graduation rate: NR
- Improving at-risk K-3 readers: D
- Prepared for success: NR
Kenwood Elementary School
- Overall: D
- Achievement: D
- Progress: B
- Gap closing: F
- Graduation rate: NR
- Improving at-risk K-3 readers: D
- Prepared for success: NR
Final grades given to other school districts in Wood County:
- Eastwood: B
- Elmwood: B
- Lake: C
- North Baltimore: C
- Northwood: D
- Otsego: C
- Perrysburg: B
- Rossford: C
