United, Leetonia schools move up on report cards
By LEONARD GLENN CRISTTwo local school districts received a bump in their district report card grade despite performing slightly worse this year on state achievement tests.
The Leetonia and United school districts were both designated "excellent" districts by the Ohio Department of Education, thanks in part to the new value-added component that rewards districts with "extra credit" if their students show more than a year's worth of progress, regardless of whether they passed the state assessment tests.
The state released district report cards Tuesday.
Three other districts in the Salem News coverage area, Columbiana, West Branch and South Range, were also dubbed "excellent," the equivalent of an A. Crestview, Salem and Sebring were "effective," the equivalent of a B. Lisbon was the only area district in "continuous improvement," the equivalent of a C.
This is the first time either Leetonia or United received the excellent designation, which is the equivalent of an A on the district report card. Last year, both schools were considered "effective," or the equivalent of a B
"The value-added portion shows that even in those areas we haven't yet passed, we are making improvement," Leetonia's superintendent, Robert Rostan, said.
Both Rostan and United Superintendent Tom Davis said they felt their school had always been excellent. Value-added is simply a better way to assess student progress, Davis said.
This is the first year the value-added component has been included on the state report card.
West Branch Superintendent Scott Weingart said the value-added data is "very valuable" because it allows schools to zero in on individual student performance and gather historical data on a students, allowing them to better develop differentiated teaching methods and, ideally, reach all students.
Rostan said the report card data is "legitimate" and he is obviously pleased with the results, but he tempers his enthusiasm because he is not in favor of comparing school districts the way the district report cards doe
"I hate the fact that this is based on one test on one day," Rostan said. "Our staff has done an excellent job year in and year out."
Lisbon's superintendent, Don Thompson, shares a similar philosophy. His district dropped from "effective" to "continuous improvement" this year. He recently told Lisbon's school board the results were not as he would have liked. Administrators and teachers will work to improve math skills, which was the area the district most struggled, Thompson said. But he also said a district's effectiveness is much more than a the results of a one-day test.
For South Range, this is the tenth straight year the district has received the excellent designation, said Superintendent Dennis Dunham. He said his district is able to achieve excellence so consistently because of a dedicated faculty and an overall attitude within the community that South Range takes academics very seriously.
Salem officials have set a goal of becoming an "excellent" district by 2010. At a recent school board meeting, interim Superintendent Lou Ramunno said the district will use specialized instruction tools and Ohio Department of Education resources to create, maintain and assess intervention models throughout the 2008-09 school year, which he hopes will increase test scores.
Complete results can be found online at http://reportcard.ohio.gov.
Leonard Glenn Crist can be reached at lcristsalemnews.net
