By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
The A-F grades are gone, replaced by stars this year in the state report cards for schools in Ohio.
According to the latest state ratings released on Thursday, Bowling Green students exceeded state standards in three categories, met the standards in one, but continued to come in below state standards in early literacy.
Bowling Green teachers, however, ranked lowest for the average pay among Wood County school districts, and lowest for years of experience on the job, according to the state report cards.
Angie Schaal, executive director of teaching and learning for Bowling Green City Schools, said Friday morning that she is pleased with the scores.
“I am pretty excited, especially about the gap closing with the effects of COVID,” Schaal said. “It’s a testament to how hard our teachers work. Our teachers did a pretty amazing job.”
Schaal acknowledged that the big challenge for the district is bringing up the early literacy rating.
“We’re confident that will come up this year,” she said, noting that BG Schools has a long-term plan in process for reading skills.
The report cards are designed to give parents, communities, educators and policymakers information about the performance of districts and schools — to celebrate achievement and success and identify areas for improvement.
The Ohio Department of Education pointed out on Thursday that schools were still facing pandemic-induced staffing and substitute staffing shortages last year that caused disruption in many classrooms.
The 2021-22 Ohio School Report Cards provide information on five rated categories, with each component rated on a scale of one to five stars.
The categories include:
- Achievement: This component represents whether student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall.
- Early literacy: This component measures reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
- Graduation: This component looks at the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.
- Progress: This component looks closely at the growth all students are making based on their past performances.
- Gap closing: This component measures the reduction in educational gaps for student subgroups.
Bowling Green City School District’s report card lists the following rating for each component:
- Achievement: 3 out of 5 stars. Meets state standards in academic achievement.
- Progress: 4 out of 5 stars. Significant evidence that the district exceeded student growth expectations.
- Gap Closing: 5 out of 5 stars. Significantly exceeds state standards in closing educational gaps.
- Graduation: 4 out of 5 stars. Exceeds state standards in graduation rates.
- Early literacy: 2 out of 5 stars. Needs support to meet state standards in early literacy (K-3).
The report cards also list the districts’ teacher salary averages and average years of experience for teachers. Following is the information provided on Wood County school districts:
- Bowling Green: Average teacher salary $59,198; average years of experience, 10.
- Eastwood: Average salary $69,205; average years of experience, 17.
- Elmwood: Average salary $66,223; average years of experience, 20.
- Lake: Average salary $63,293; average years of experience, 13.
- North Baltimore: Average salary $59,644; average years of experience, 15.
- Northwood: Average salary $68,576; average years of experience, 16.
- Otsego: Average salary $65,535; average years of experience, 14.
- Perrysburg: Average salary $73,212; average years of experience, 12.
- Rossford: Average salary $82,565; average years of experience, 19.
More information on the report cards can be found at:
https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/overview/043638
The Ohio General Assembly amended Ohio’s accountability law in the summer of 2021. The report cards for the 2021-2022 school year do not include an overall rating, but one will be added when the 2023 report cards are released in the fall of that year.
Additional information on the changes to the accountability system can be found on the Department’s Report Card Resources webpage.
