How Accurate is the Ohio School District Report Card System?

Ohio’s grading system of public school districts has been in place for two full years, and seems to be getting positive feedback. But the question is, just how accurate is the system in representing an entire school district?

The current A through F system, as used all across the United States, replaced Ohio’s previous rating system which gave schools ratings from “Excellent with Distinction” to “Academic Emergency,” at the start of the 2012-2013 year. The goal was to apply a single overall letter grade and detail how well schools and districts were performing in several important areas. The grade, in turn, was expected to clear up questionable results left by the former system.

“It was time for a clearer way of rating school performance that will help schools and families see what we still have to do to give our students the education they deserve,” Ohio State Superintendent Dr. Richard Ross said.

Important areas include: Achievement, Progress, Graduation Rate, Gap Closing, K-3 Literacy, Prepared for Success and a few others totaling to 10 separate scores that go into the overall grade. But how much weight does each one carry?

One popular belief is the goal of a school district is to prepare students for life in the “real world,” which by extension could be interpreted as helping students graduate high school and possibly enroll in a college. Therefore, logically, one may think that schools with the highest graduation rates ought to receive the highest scores.

However, this is not necessarily true. In a statistical investigation, 18 schools across the state of Ohio were surveyed comparing their graduation rates with their report card grades. The calculations revealed a correlation of .7178, which means that there is a relatively strong relationship between the two. However, correlation does not prove causation, as evidenced by Zanesville and Garfield Heights city school districts, whom each received a D for the 2013-2014 school year, yet had a graduation rate of 91 and 85 percent respectively. It is easy to overlook the quality of the education as an important factor.

Next, the investigation looked at the amount of state funding provided per student and compared it to the district’s overall grade. However, the statistical analysis revealed a correlation of .1711, which is low enough to conclude there is no direct relationship between the two. Had there have been a strong relationship, it would have indicated that more tax dollars are being spent on students who are supposedly receiving a better education and possibly raised a few eyebrows. What about the ratio between teachers and students? It is commonly advertised that a smaller class size means more individualized student learning opportunities and thus create a better learning environment. This may be true, but the statistical analysis of the 18 schools again revealed a weak relationship with correlation .1771. One major flaw in this examination is the numbers cannot test for the quality of teacher. Just because the class is small does not guarantee the learning is that much improved.

One particular category did however standout as a frontrunner for a main foundation of the overall grade: Test Scores. In the 10th grade, students are given proficiency exams, such as the Ohio Graduation Tests (OGTs) to measure skills in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies and science. Taking the proficiency rates of each school and comparing it to the overall district grade revealed a strong correlation of .8375 indicating that schools with higher report card grades scored higher on the proficiency exams. Including Revere Local School District which received an A while having a proficiency rate of 95.9 percent.