On Tuesday, the Ohio Department of Education released the 2020 Ohio School Report Cards.
This year’s report cards do not contain overall grades for any district or building, individual grades or ratings for given components or performance measures. The report cards also do not include any information about student performance on state tests, the academic growth of students during the school year and the extent to which achievement gaps are being addressed for students. This is in keeping with legislation passed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic that also canceled the administration of most state tests for the last portion of the 2019-2020 school year.
This edition of the Ohio School Report Cards does, however, provide information on graduation rates, Prepared for Success indicators and some other measures. In addition, much of the usual demographic and enrollment data is available along with other district and school operational details.
“While schools have less information available than in years past, we still emphasize the importance of gauging where students are in terms of academic achievement and using available district data to inform improvement to instruction,” said Paolo DeMaria, superintendent of public instruction. “The education community’s goal is to carry forward the teamwork, collaboration and care we’ve seen since last spring through this new academic year and beyond.
We have never been more focused, united and determined to ensure each child is challenged to learn, prepared to pursue a fulfilling post-high school path and empowered to become a resilient, lifelong learner who contributes to society.”
Some highlights of this year’s report card results include:
- Continued improvement in the high school graduation rate– The four-year graduation rate stands at 85.9 percent for the Class of 2019, up from 85.3 percent the previous year. This is an increase of 7.9 percent since 2010.
- More students are meeting the Prepared for Success measure– The statewide percentage has increased to 42 percent with 3,994 more students contributing points to the readiness indicators compared to last year. The statewide percentage has increased every year this measure has been reported – up 7.8 percent since 2016.
- Gains in industry-recognized credentials and dual enrollment- Nearly 18,200 students in the Classes of 2018 and 2019 earned industry-recognized credentials, an increase of 3,427 from the previous year. The number of students earning dual enrollment credits jumped 6,121 from the year before and has grown 58 percent since 2017.
- The Ohio School Report Cards and other data for all schools and districts, including community and other schools, are available at reportcard.education.ohio.gov. For information explaining available report card metrics, see the Report Card Resources for the 2020 Report Card User Guide.
Given the limited data available on the report cards this year, it will be challenging to gauge how well a particular school or district is performing. All the more reason individuals interested in understanding school performance should talk with parents, students, teachers and graduates for insight into what a school really means to students, families and the community.
To highlight each district’s unique qualities and attributes, the Department includes a link on the district report card to a district-created webpage containing more information.
