On the surface, results from the 2023-24 state report cards on academic achievement in Ohio’s 607 public school districts elicit no jaw-dropping surprises.

School districts that traditionally have scored well continue to do so. Those that have marks they’d likely prefer to hide remain relatively consistent as well.

But that does not mean the recently released annual assessments from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce do not contain real value. In fact, they open a treasure trove of information that could and should guide school districts and individual school buildings on a path toward elevated excellence. To be sure, a deep dive into their multifaceted results should be must reads for responsible educators, administrators and taxpayers alike.

Many parents and others supporting public schools with their tax dollars, however, will skim only the big-picture ratings on academic performance. There, they will find predictable results.

In Mahoning County, for example, Canfield schools rank 31st in its overall 2023-24 performance index of 104, putting it in the top 5% of all districts statewide. On the other end of the spectrum, Youngstown City Schools ranked 600th best – or eighth worst – in Ohio with a performance index of 54. Warren was not far behind, ranking a lowly 586th in that category measuring performance on a battery of tests.

School districts such as South Range, McDonald, Weathersfield, Howland, Lakeview, Champion, Joseph Badger, Columbiana and Maplewood all received overall ratings of 4.5 to 5 stars, or the rough equivalent of A- to A grades. All greatly exceed state standards.

But as with many other complex barometers of achievement, one quick glance at the grades for schools and districts for the 2023-24 academic year can be very deceptive. Indeed a closer examination of all of the individual measurements shows reason for guarded optimism and, in some cases, pride over the success and progress many schools in the Valley achieved in the past school year.

Take Youngstown, for example. Yes, its overall rating shows tremendous room for gargantuan improvement, but in the area of career and technical education, the district’s Choffin school excels with five out of five stars. Its Rayen Early College High School also scored superlatively with five stars. District administrators may want to consider transplanting some of the strategies and protocols from those two stellar buildings for guidance to improve lower performing schools in the system..

Additionally, its performance index, while still far below state average, has increased six points over the past two years. In some respects, YCS are on a growth path.

Other data can be telling as well. Take the report cards’ measurement of chronic absenteeism. Those cards reported Warren’s rate at 48% compared with Maplewood’s rate of 13%. Translated into action, that means Warren City Schools administrators may want to consider more investment in keeping students in class as chronic absenteeism and academic excellence clearly are inversely proportional.

Or take academic disciplines. Of the two dozen subjects measured, Boardman schools scored lowest in geometry, and Howland schools scored lowest in eighth-grade math and language arts (tie). Such measurements can provide school board members and administrators in those communities direction on which programs may need additional review and resources.

Of course, the annual report cards on the state of Ohio schools fail to take into account the impact of external factors in students’ lives that weigh heavily on achievement levels.

Many other ingredients go into building student achievement, including the availability of strong learning resources, poverty, hunger and the support system students receive in their personal lives from parents and guardians.

That’s why test and report card results should never be used as the sole indicators of the success or failure of a student, a school or a district.

On the whole, however, the report cards do serve as one viable tool among many that schools should use to identify and then address their own strengths and weaknesses.

If taken seriously, examined closely and used appropriately, they can play an important role in improving the overall quality of learning for Ohio’s most precious commodity — its 1.6 million public school students.

editorial@vindy.com