Why Three-Fourths of Ohio Schools Could See Their State Report Cards Downgraded

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A new way of grading Ohio’s schools would mean fewer A-rated schools and more with Bs, Cs, Ds and Fs.

Three-fourths of school districts and charter schools would see their state rating drop the equivalent of at least one grade if this new system is approved and they perform the same this year as last year.  (Scroll down to see how your school district fares.)

State education officials proposed the new system earlier this year as part of Ohio’s application to the feds for freedom from some parts of the No Child Left Behind Act. The new system would replace Ohio’s current dual state and federal grading systems.

As things stand now, a school district can fail under the federal system — receiving a judgement of “Does Not Meet AYP” — while getting an A from the state. In fact, there are more than 100 school districts currently in that boat. This new system would combine the state and federal school rating systems into a single program: No longer would we see schools getting an F from the feds and an A from the state.

State officials say the new system presents a clearer picture of how Ohio schools are actually performing, and corrects the rating-inflation they say has crept into the state system over time. During a statewide speaking tour in the fall, state schools chief Stan Heffner said Ohio’s school school evaluation system sets the bar too low and creates “a false sense of achievement.”

The new system measures Ohio schools in four areas, awards a letter grade in each, and then averages the letter grades, giving each one equal weight.

The four areas are:

• Percent of state standards met. Includes the percentage of students passing tests plus graduation and attendance rates.
• Performance index. This looks at how well students do on state tests, beyond just passing them.
• Value added. This looks at how much students learned in the year, regardless of their academic level at the start of the year.
• Gap closing. This focuses on the performance of ethnic and racial subgroups, as well as low-income students, students with disabilities and students learning English.

So how does the new system knock down the grades for so many school districts?

For most of the school districts and charter schools that would drop from an A to a B under the new system, it’s because of two changes:

1. A higher bar to get an A in the performance index category. (That’s the measure that looks at how well students do on state tests rather than simply at how many pass.) 
   • Under the new system, a district that wants an A in this area would need to have more students acing the state tests, rather than simply passing them.
2. A stricter way of counting the performance of minority students, albeit one with lower standards.
   • The current federal school grading system basically says that by 2013-14, 100 percent of all students and students in various subgroups (like Hispanic, low-income, special ed students and so on) should pass state reading and math tests. (There are other requirements too, but that’s the gist of it.) The new dual state/federal grading system expects that by 2018-19, about 90 percent of all students and students in various subgroups should pass state reading and math tests.
   • Under the current state grading system, a school can fail to meet the federal expectation for student subgroup performance and still get an A as long as the school’s overall test scores are high. Under the new system, failing to meet expectations for student subgroups can reduce a district’s overall grade. Plus, the new system would eliminate existing loopholes that allow schools to meet federal standards by demonstrating that their performance is improving — even if it’s not actually at the expected level.

The impact on charter schools would be particularly hard because some charter schools are too small to be graded in all of the four areas, and so would get a grade based on, say, two of four areas. (On the other hand,  fourteen schools — all charter schools — would actually receive higher grades under the system, moving from Fs to Ds.)

Earlier this week, we visited Zanesville Community School, a charter school that would be knocked down to an F from a C, under the new system. But the charter school is small — it had about 100 students last year — and so only receives grades in two of the four areas that add up to a final grade under the new system.

And charter schools are particularly worried about the new grades because, under current state law, a charter school that gets an F for two out of three years must shut down.

Another factor that’s making school officials nervous is that not long after the new grading system  would be implemented, a new set of tests will also be rolled out. The Common Core standards are expected to hit Ohio’s schools in 2014-15.

Bill Sims, president of the Ohio Alliance for Public Charter Schools, says that’s too much reform hitting all at once, and schools should at least be given a longer transition to prepare for the new ratings and tests. He says that’s especially true for charter schools, given that they are also at peril (“in peril” or “at risk” reads more smoothly to my eye) because of the state’s closure law.

“Has the Department of Education considered all of the different ramifications of this so-called ‘perfect storm?’ I think perhaps they have not,” says Sims. But, he’s also optimistic that the Department of Education will resolve these issues.

Matt Cohen with the Department of Education says the impending Common Core standards are actually part of the reason for the push for the new evaluations. He says the new standards will give a better picture of just where Ohio’ schools stand.

Plus, Cohen says the legislature still needs to adopt the new standards, so it’s premature to worry about the projected drops in school rankings.

Traditional public schools don’t face the same deadly consequences for mutiple Fs, but the lower grades would have consequences for them too. Under current state law, students in low-rated school districts can apply for publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools. Higher rated districts get another $17 per student in state funding.

Plus, there’s the PR challenge of explaining to parents and real estate agents why one has to tear the “Excellent” banner off the school facade.

Ohio School Districts and Charter Schools: Current State Rating vs. Projected State Rating

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Source: Ohio Department of Education | Download Data

Note: Ohio’s current school rating system includes five ratings: Excellent with Distinction (the equivalent of an A+), Excellent (A), Effective (B), Continuous Improvement (C), Academic Watch (D) and Academic Emergency (F).