BEAVERCREEK — Beavercreek City Schools remained steady in its Ohio Department of Education report card scores released Sept. 13, showed progress in the other two areas, and ultimately achieved an overall “B” for the 2017-2018 school year.
Overall letter grades for districts — including Beavercreek’s “B” — is a brand new report card concept. The letter grade combines all the graded areas, each weighted differently: 20 percent achievement, 20 percent progress, 15 percent graduation rate, 15 percent gap closing, 15 percent improving at-risk K-3 readers, and 15 percent preparedness for success.
“The 2017-2018 state report card shows that we are doing some great things in our district that we can be really proud of. Student progress across the district in all categories is outstanding and we are pleased that our students are growing at a pace well above state expectations,” officials said in a statement from the district.
Last year, the district jumped from a 50.9 percent C (2015-2016) to a 53.9 percent B (2016-2017) in the K-3 literacy improvement category, which looks at how successful the school is at improving at-risk K-3 readers. This area really only measures the growth and progress of struggling kids.
But this year, the school has done so well in the improving at risk K-3 readers category that its grade is shown as NR or Not Reported. Per state law, a school that has fewer than five percent of their Kindergartners reading below grade level does not receive a letter grade, according to the ODE. In other words, NR correlates to 95 percent of students or more reading well from the start, or enough students improved from year to year.
Beavercreek also showed progress in the gap closing category. Gap closing shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for the “most vulnerable populations of students” in English language arts, math and graduation. It also measures how well schools are teaching English learners to become proficient in English.
The district jumped from a 59.6 percent F (2015-2016) to a 76.3 percent C (2016-2017) to a 100 percent A (2017-2018), steadily making progress in the progress area.
The district’s grades remained steady for all other components.
In the achievement category, based on student performance on state tests, the grade remained a C overall — broken down as an 82.6 percent B in performance index and a 64 percent D in indicators met. While performance index measures the achievement of all students on state tests, indicators met just represents the students who passed.
Last year’s achievement score was also an overall C. Performance index went down only .1 percent and indicators met went up 5.7 percent.
Progress remained an A overall — A for gifted students, A for students in the lowest 20 percent in achievement, and B for students with disabilities, scoring the same in each as last year.
The schools also received a steady, high A in graduation rate. The score shows 96.7 percent of students graduating in 4 years and 97.6 percent of students graduating in 5 years. This compares to last year’s 96.1 percent and 97.6 percent ratings.
Some aspects of the report card allow schools to compare their information to other peer groups.
“Comparisons with our peer group, as defined by the state, shows that Beavercreek compares favorably in many categories,” the statement said. “While we are really only concerned with our own performance and growth, analyzing results from our peer group allows us to determine potential partners for collaboration and information sharing that ultimately improves the success for all students.
BCSD’s graduation rates were higher than similar districts and the state average.
Another component measures how well students are prepared for the future — whether entering a technical field, work, or college. In preparedness for success, the district earned a C again, a slight .4 percent higher than last year.
Despite the improvement, administration said there’s always room for even more growth next year.
“There is always room for improvement and we strive every day to prepare students in a way that challenges them, meets the state standards, and prepares them for future success,” officials said. “Teachers and administrators dissect report card data and work to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.”
To see the complete report card, visit https://bit.ly/2CU4Awr.
