Officials release Ohio school, district ratings

COLUMBUS, Ohio - State officials have released Ohio school and district ratings that have been delayed amid a statewide review of student-attendance data.

The Ohio Department of Education on Wednesday posted the results in a spreadsheet for now -- instead of the charts, graphs and other visual elements that districts and families have come to expect.

Results are still considered preliminary as Ohio Auditor Dave Yost investigates enrollment and attendance irregularities around the state.

The Ohio Board of Education voted to release the eagerly-awaited information, in part because Election Day is approaching and many districts are pursuing levy and bond issues.

The report card confirms previous data released on Sept. 26 showing no improvement in CMSD’s overall performance on the state’s 24 achievement tests during the 2010-11 school year.

In a news release, CEO Eric Gordon said CMSD’s “relatively flat performance” includes an anticipated change on the state performance index of only three-tenths of a point and an expected 3.8 percent increase in the district’s graduation rate.

“We were well aware that if CMSD did not meet the state’s valued-added measure for the second year, we would move from Academic Watch to Academic Emergency,” said Gordon. “We expected better results, but this simply reaffirms the critical importance of the Cleveland Plan and passage of Issue 107 that, together, give us the opportunity to put Cleveland’s schools on a path of unparalleled change, growth and success.”

Gordon said the legislative changes enabled by the Cleveland Plan, coupled with the resources sought from the community with passage of Issue 107, are the city’s greatest hope for doing business differently in traditional and charter schools across the district and for producing the academic results citizens want.

Continued loss of stimulus funds, drastic cuts in state and federal funding, the layoff of more than 1,000 teachers and staff and cuts in spending totaling more than $114 million from CMSD's budget the last two years, have presented challenges for the district, even as it expands its growing portfolio of high-performing school choices for families. Without passage of Issue 107, the CEO said, CMSD can expect to see a continued unacceptable class sizes, further cuts in programs and services, and similarly unacceptable results on state report cards.

“The people of Cleveland worked together to find solutions to problems we can no longer wait for the state and federal government to solve for us,” said Gordon. “The historic Cleveland Plan changes archaic school laws for Cleveland only, and gives us a unique opportunity to show state legislators what we can do to improve our schools, if given the chance.”

Cleveland voters have what Gordon calls an “unprecedented opportunity” on November 6 to resource the Cleveland Plan with passage of Issue 107, a four-year levy that the CEO says, can move the Plan forward and produce the academic results citizens want for Cleveland’s children.

The reports are normally published in August. Schools and districts have had access to preliminary student achievement data on standardized assessments throughout the summer.

On the Web: Ohio Department of Education: http://1.usa.gov/WmYzLU