By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
This is the type of grade card a kid would intentionally lose in a snow bank on the way home from school.
The latest state report cards from the Ohio Department of Education for 2014-2015 paint a dismal picture for many schools in the area. Bowling Green City Schools’ grades included three As, three Cs, two Ds, and three Fs.
Nothing to post on the refrigerator door.
But those grades are not an accurate representation of what is happening in classrooms, according to school officials.
The grades were the result of two changes that contributed to the lower results, according to Ann McCarty, executive director of teaching and learning for BG City Schools.
The grades were based on “tests that were new and have since been abolished,” McCarty explained. That paired up with the normal regression of the mean scores when two tests are used, created a “double whammy.”
While some parents may be worried about the scores, McCarty said the frequent communication the school district has with parents should help calm those concerns. “We have an ongoing nature of working collaboratively with parents and community members.”
Though the reality is not as grim as the report card reflects, McCarty said it does point to some areas that need improvement.
“We still have work to do,” she said.
But the story not told by the report cards is important, McCarty stressed.
“The teachers in Bowling Green City Schools are amazing educators. I’ve been nothing but impressed,” said McCarty who moved here about six months ago after working in education in Virginia. “They truly want the best for students. The report card does not capture that.”
It’s not just local school officials disturbed by the grades and the inaccurate picture they paint.
“Ohio’s report cards this year do not fairly reflect what is going on in many of our schools and classrooms,” State Sen. Randy Gardner, R- Bowling Green, stated after the latest batch of report cards was released. “In many cases they do not measure the positive work being done by our teachers and other education professionals. The public deserves better information and our schools deserve a more accurate public report on how they are serving our communities and our children.”
Gardner said this year’s report cards were doomed by several factors.
“Future report cards will do a better job of more accurately reporting relevant information to the public. Numerous factors impacted this year’s report cards, including new and already abolished tests, changing standards, federal mandates, inconsistent technology and varied participation rates of students involved in taking tests,” Gardner said. “Some of that will change, and it is imperative for legislators and the state board of education to help develop better report cards.”
The latest grades are based on standardized test scores that were taken in the spring of 2015. Ohio used PARCC assessments last year in the areas of math and reading which replaced the Ohio Achievement Assessments in the 2014-15 school year. After one year, the state eliminated the PARCC exams.
This year, students will take the Ohio-developed Next Generation Assessments that have been developed by the American Institute for Research – a change that has been widely supported as the best option moving forward, according to BG Superintendent Francis Scruci.
This academic year, BGCS entered the Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) as a district requiring moderate support with two watch schools; Crim Elementary and Bowling Green Middle School. This determination by the state was due to a rating of “F” for two consecutive years in the area of “Gap Closing.” The OIP is designed to build a collaborative culture that focuses on student learning through the implementation of best teaching practices.
Highlights from this year’s district report card include:
- Indicators met went from a “C” to an “A”, meaning that all state benchmarks in all tested areas were met.
- High School Graduation Rate of 93 percent continues to result in an “A.”
- Gap Closing moved from an “F” to a “C” indicating that academic gaps that exist between subgroups and all students decreased.
Continued areas of improvement:
- District Performance Index went from a “B” to a “C” indicating that less students passed tests than in the previous year.
- K-3 Literacy continues with a grade of “D.”
- District Progress is the greatest area for growth with an “F” in all areas (overall, students in the lowest 20 percent of achievement, and students with disabilities) with the exception of “D” in gifted. “Progress” is the district’s average progress for its students in math and reading grades 4-8. It looks at how much each student learns in a year. It helps to answer the question as to whether a student has made a year’s progress throughout the course of the academic year.
“While we have a number of successes on our report card, we know that there is room for improvement,” Scruci said in a statement on the district’s website. “Our goal is continued progress and ensuring our students receive the best education. We are grateful to serve a community that values education and supports its public schools. We are fortunate to have dedicated staff members who thrive on continuous improvement and doing what is best for students. We are confident that with concentrated efforts we will continue to make progress for all students. We will remain resilient with the changing tide of mandates in testing and ensure that our focus is always the success of our students.”
Anyone wanting more details may go to http://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/Pages/default.aspx
