COLUMBUS — The new report cards for schools and school districts were made available today to communities throughout Ohio. Analysis of today’s report card release confirms research that shows income and poverty have a direct correlation to student performance.
Among the 135 school districts above the state average income of $51,626, 91% scored an A in the letter grade of standards met category, while just 41% of the 474 districts below the state average income received an A.
Among the 360 districts with student poverty levels less than the state average, 74% earned an A, while only 20% of the 249 districts with poverty levels higher than the state average received an A.
A chart showing the percentage of districts with an A in the letter grade of standards met category, based on income, can be seen below.
Unlike prior years, the revamped report cards assign A-though-F letter grades to schools in nine different categories, which range from graduation rates to achievement gaps to student performance on state tests.
Instead of ratings such as “excellent with distinction” and “continuous improvement,” schools and school districts ultimately will receive overall letter grades. They will not receive overall letter grades until 2015; the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) is still developing how the scores will be calculated.
ODE has made the new report cards available to the public on its website at http://reportcard.education.ohio.gov.
For more information, contact the Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA), Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) and Ohio Association of School Business Officials (OASBO). Media contacts are listed at the top of this release.