ASHLAND — The Ohio Department of Education released its 2022-2023 school report cards on Sept. 14.
The report cards show a school district’s progress in raising achievement and preparing students for the future. They analyze data from numerous categories to provide “clear and easily available reporting on school performance,” according to ODE’s school report cards website.
Those categories include:
- Achievement
- Early literacy
- Gap closing
- Graduation
- College, career, workforce and military readiness
This year, schools have been rated on a five-star scale based on their performance in achievement, early literacy, gap closing and graduation. College, career, workforce and military readiness is not counted toward districts’ or schools’ ratings.
Schools meet state standards as long as they receive a three-star overall rating. The report cards offer a breakdown of ratings in each area, in addition to an overall rating from the state.
In Ashland County, all area districts met state standards overall. The county saw high marks across the board in gap closing and graduation.
Career centers and the Ashland County Community Academy are measured on different metrics than local school districts, but each passed its review and meets state standards, too.
Ashland City Schools
Ashland City Schools received a four-star rating from the ODE in this year’s report cards. The breakdown follows:
- Achievement: 4 stars
- Progress: 2 stars
- Gap closing: 5 stars
- Graduation: 4 stars
- Early literacy: 3 stars
“I thought that the four out of five stars was a very strong showing for Ashland City Schools,” said Supt. Steve Paramore.
Paramore said he was proud of the district’s high rating in gap closing, along with the measure of early literacy. He said the district hopes to continue meeting and exceeding state standards in early literacy as it works with the science of reading.
The two-star rating on progress, Paramore said, reflects two days of testing. While he said the district will continue looking at data and focusing on different student demographics, that rating doesn’t necessarily reflect all the district does for students.
For more information on Ashland City Schools, you can check out its district report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/043505.
Hillsdale Local Schools
Hillsdale Local Schools also received a four-star rating.
Their breakdown follows:
- Achievement: 4 stars
- Progress: 3 stars
- Gap closing: 5 stars
- Graduation: 4 stars
- Early literacy: 4 stars
“We will get together as an admin team to discuss the data and how to move forward for the rest of the year to increase our scores even more next year,” stated Catherine Trevathan, Hillsdale’s superintendent, in an email message.
For more information on Hillsdale Local Schools, you can check out its district report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/045823.
Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools
Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools met state standards with a three and a half-star rating.
The breakdown of categories follows:
- Achievement: 3 stars
- Progress: 2 stars
- Gap closing: 4 stars
- Graduation: 4 stars
- Early literacy: 3 stars
For more information on Loudonville-Perrysville Exempted Village Schools, you can check out the district’s report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/045468.
Mapleton Local Schools
Mapleton Local Schools had a 4-star rating on its report card. Specific categories’ ratings follow:
- Achievement: 3 stars
- Progress: 3 stars
- Gap closing: 4 stars
- Graduation: 5 stars
- Early literacy: 2 stars
Mandy Charnigo, the principal at Mapleton Elementary School, said the low early literacy score is expected to change.
“At the elementary we have implemented Tier 2 literacy instruction for all students outside of their Tier 1 literacy instruction,” Charnigo stated in an email to Ashland Source.
According to Branching Minds, a K-12 services and technology company, Tier 1 instruction places a focus on students’ broad skills. Tier 2 instruction, on the other hand, targets “a specific skill deficit” and works to address that via instruction and intervention.
For more information on Mapleton Local Schools, you can check out its report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/district/045831.
Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center
Career centers also received star ratings.
According to an overview of Career Technical Planning District report cards, their ratings include “specific marks of performance, called measures, within broad categories called components.”
The Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center received a four-star mark from the state, and met nine out of nine federal indicators. Its breakdown follows:
- Achievement: 3 stars
- Graduation rate: 5 stars
- Career and postsecondary readiness: 4 stars
- Post-program outcomes: 3 stars
For more information on Ashland County-West Holmes Career Center, you can check out its report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/ctpd/200003.
Ashland County Community Academy
The Ashland County Community Academy, which functions as a public district, also received marks from the Ohio Department of Education.
It receives the dropout prevention and recovery report card.
That report card receives ratings for up to eight measures and considers four components — achievement, progress, gap closing and graduation rate.
Ashland County Community Academy met standards for the state. A more specific breakdown follows:
- Achievement component: Not rated
- Progress: Meets standards
- Gap closing: Meets standards
- Graduation rate: Exceeds standards
Shannon Lusk, the superintendent at Ashland County Community Academy, said the district received an exceeds expectations rating last year. She said the achievement component was not rated this year because the district didn’t have enough students to measure it.
“That’s new to us,” Lusk said. “We’ve never had that happen.”
Because that component was not rated, it wasn’t included in the school’s overall report card rating.
Still, Lusk said the graduation rate at Ashland County Community Academy is something the district is proud of. At a 76.5% four-year graduation rate, it’s the highest rate the district has had since 2009, Lusk said.
She attributed that success to her staff. Lusk said teachers provide free tutoring after schools and there’s a focus on interventions, and they’re seeing results from their approach.
“We’re very happy, and it’s thanks to my wonderful staff who’s really putting in the work to get these kids past the finish line,” Lusk said.
For more information on Ashland County Community Academy, you can check out its report card here: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/dorp/009971.