By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Bowling Green City School District can proudly stick this report card on the refrigerator.
In the state report card rankings released Friday morning, the district climbed up to an overall ranking of 4.5 out of 5.
The only district to score higher in Wood County is Perrysburg, which received an overall ranking of 5. Every other school district in the county scored lower than Bowling Green.
“I’m definitely pleased with the growth that we’ve shown,” BG Superintendent Ted Haselman said Friday morning after the state report card results were released. “We’ve worked really hard to improve our curriculum in the classrooms and our teachers have worked hard to implement that.”
The district’s grades reflect the high quality education received by students of Bowling Green City Schools, he said.
“I believe this report card is proof that our staff members are doing a quality job educating our students,” Haselman said. “There are very few schools around the state that get these grades. I am proud of this.”
Haselman noted there is room to grow, with the ultimate goal to achieve an overall ranking of 5.
“I promise you we will work hard to improve,” he said. “We recognize there are areas we can still grow.”
Bowling Green City Schools saw progress since last year with its overall 4.5 ranking, which was 4 last year, plus growth in two categories. The district gained in rankings on Achievement, scoring 4 this year compared to 3 last year. The district also moved up in Progress, scoring 5 compared to 4 last year.
Two other categories remained the same, with Gap Closing remaining at 5 of 5, and Early Literacy scoring at 3.
“We maintained that 5,” he said of the Gap Closing score. “When you get to the highest level, it’s important to maintain that level.”
The district was hoping the report card would reflect the improvements in Early Literacy since the elementaries have been using the Science of Reading Program. Haselman said the district was close to reaching the next level.
“When you pull the curtain back on this data, we were so close to improving from 3 to 4,” just being short a handful of students to move up, he said. “We’re hoping with continued effort” to reach that next year.
The district slipped to 4 in the Graduation category, after scoring 5 last year.
“With a district our size, one or two kids can change the grade,” Haselman said. “That’s an area we’re going to continue to work on.”
(More details on each category appear later in story.)
The overall ranking for all nine school districts in Wood County are: Perrysburg, 5; Bowling Green, 4.5; Eastwood, 4; Northwood, 4; Otsego, 4; North Baltimore, 3.5; Rossford, 3.5; Elmwood, 3; and Lake, 3.
The grades are based on standardized tests, and look at student achievement, early literacy, progress from one year to the next, closing gaps, and graduation rates.
In a letter to the community about the grade cards, Haselman wrote:
“Today, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) officially released the Ohio School Report Card from the 2023-24 school year. The Report Card results are based on student assessments given last school year along with other measured indicators.
“Every public school in Ohio receives a School Report Card. Ohio School Report Cards provide parents, caregivers, community members, educators, and district leaders information about district and school performance — to celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement.
“The information provides transparent reporting to drive local conversations on continuous improvement and identifying needed supports. The 2024 District Report Card provides an overview and explanation of five key components: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Early Literacy, and Graduation.
“Districts and schools receive an overall rating of 1 to 5 stars, in half-star increments, with 5 stars being the highest.
“Bowling Green City Schools (BGCS) achieved an overall rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. This is an improvement from last school year’s rating of a 4 out of 5 stars. After thoroughly reviewing the entire Report Card and analyzing the data much more deeply, there are many examples indicating the students of Bowling Green City Schools receive a quality education. Below is a breakdown of each Report Card component.
● “An area in which the district’s Report Card was extremely strong was in the area of Gap Closing. Ensuring success for every child means that schools must close gaps that exist in the achievement between groups of students based on factors such as income, race, ethnicity, or disability. Our district’s student demographic determines the district’s subgroups once thresholds have been met (a specific number of students in the population demographic). In Gap Closing BGCS received a 5 star rating. It is important we close these gaps ensuring all students show achievement, and this component rating is proof that we are doing just that. The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce describes the 5 star rating as ‘significantly exceeds state standards.’
● “The Report Card area of Progress was another extremely strong area for BGCS. This component measures year-to-year academic growth of our students and is measured by looking at the current achievement of a group of students compared to prior achievement results on Ohio’s State Tests. The state expects each student to ‘grow’ or show one year’s worth of growth in a tested subject. For example, if a student’s reading level is 4.5, a year’s worth of growth would show an ending reading level of 5.5 and would equate to a component score of a 3 star rating. In Progress the district earned a 5 star rating. This is an improvement from last year’s rating of a 4 star. This high rating indicates our students are achieving more than expected growth and is described by the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce as ‘significant evidence the district exceeded student growth expectations.’ Bowling Green students are showing more than a year’s worth of growth.
● “The Achievement component represents whether student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall. BGCS earned a 4 star rating for this report card component. This is an improvement from last year’s 3 star rating and the district is exceeding state standards in academic achievement.
● “In the Graduation component the district earned a 4 Star Rating with 94.9% of our Bobcats graduating in four years. This high rating indicates BGCS supports our students until the end of their K-12 educational career.
● “The Early Literacy component shows how school districts are working to support struggling readers in kindergarten through grade 3. The district earned a 3 Star Rating on this component. BGCS has worked extensively over the last few years to increase our K-3 Literacy Achievement, and while our data has shown significant progress over the years, we recognize this as an area of growth. The district’s rating meets the state’s expectation however we will continue our efforts to improve the literacy of our youngest learners.”
Haselman’s letter to the community continued, “There is no doubt this Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Report Card data is proof that Bowling Green City Schools continues to make progress and continuous improvement. The district is very proud of our accomplishment and I hope you as a community member are as well. The ratings in our Ohio State Report Card are a result of everyone’s hard work.
“While the Ohio State Report Card is important and a measurement tool of our district, we know Bowling Green City Schools does so much more than what can be reported on a district report card. We are, and should be, proud of what we do. I look forward to continuing the work, side by side with all staff and community members, to improve the experience and education of Bowling Green City Schools’ students.”
To view report cards online, visit https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/.
