The state’s new report cards for school districts are designed to help schools improve and parents better monitor their progress, but could instead create confusion for parents.
The new system gives A through F letter grades in nine different categories, instead of overall labels like “excellent,” or “continuous improvement” or “academic emergency.”Bill Zelei is the executive director of the Ohio Schools Council. He said the more complex grading system is admittedly more difficult to follow and interpret.
“The report card is becoming more and more complex,” he said. “And sometimes when we feed more data to folks, it becomes more confusing rather than more clear. If I was a parent and I was looking at a report card, I’d be looking at the individual areas and probably focusing on those areas that are more important to me and my children.”For example, Zelei said parents should key into how well their schools do with educating gifted students or those with disabilities if those measures are relevant to their children.