Newly-released state report cards show fewer Ohio school districts got an "A" grade on a key performance measure. Six of 609 districts received an A for their Performance Index, which measures student performance on state tests. That's down from 37 districts last year. More than half of the districts received a C. No central Ohio school districts received an A grade, with the Olentangy and Granville schools earning Bs. The Columbus City Schools received a D, but officials say the district received an A for yearly improvement. A state education official and some lawmakers say the cards should not have been released. Ohio Public Radio's Jo Ingles reports.
State Board of Education member A. J. Wagner says the grades being reported are
faulty because of the PARCC tests that students took last year.
"These report cards are not just inaccurate, they are harmful to our children, our
schools and our communities."
Wagner and some lawmakers, including Democratic Rep. Teresa Fedor, say the report
cards shouldn't have been released. Is there any value in those report cards?
"Not much other than realtors get to say to people who are interested in moving into
a different area - they use that."
State education officials had warned that grades on this year's report cards would
drop. And districts, students and teachers won't face consequences because the state
has scrapped the PARCC test and is moving to a new one.
