Enquirer analysis: How did southwest Ohio schools do on state report cards?
Loveland, Sycamore and Madeira school districts were the only three in southwest Ohio to score the most stars in every category in the state's recently released report cards.
Ohio's new rating system awards up to five stars in five categories: achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation and early literacy. In general, a three-star rating indicates the school or district met state standards. More than three stars means the school or district exceeded state standards, and below three stars means they fell short of state expectations.
Ohio school report cards: Find your district in this searchable database
Enquirer survey shows local educators agree: The state's data isn't useful by the time report cards are shared with schools.
“This is a tremendous achievement for Loveland City School District, and a testament to the hard work of our students and their families, and the outstanding support offered by our outstanding staff,” superintendent Mike Broadwater said in a Friday morning news release.
On the other end of the spectrum was Lockland Local Schools, the smallest district in the region and one of the state's poorest school systems. Lockland scored one star in achievement, progress, graduation and early literacy and two stars in gap closing.
Cincinnati Public Schools, Mount Healthy City Schools, North College Hill City Schools and Winton Woods City Schools were also of the lowest-rated districts in the region, scoring less than 10 collective stars each among the five categories. But some individual schools within CPS scored three, four and even five stars in various categories.
You can find scores for individual CPS schools by clicking here.
As a region, school districts struggled the most in meeting state standards for progress and early literacy. Of the 49 districts in Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties, 39% did not meet state expectations for either of those categories.
The region had about 22% of districts fall below state achievement standards and 24% fall below in graduation, according to state data.
Only 10%, or five districts , fell below state gap closing standards: Lockland Local Schools, Mount Healthy City Schools, North College Hill City Schools, Cincinnati Public Schools and New Miami Local Schools. Twenty-three districts scored five stars in that category.
The Enquirer took a look at report cards for the region's top 10 largest districts after Cincinnati Public Schools: Lakota Local Schools, Mason City Schools, Hamilton City Schools, Fairfield City Schools, Northwest Local Schools, West Clermont Local Schools, Oak Hills Local Schools, Forest Hills Local Schools, Milford Exempted Village Schools and Springboro Community City Schools.
Here's what we found.
Ohio report card: Lakota Local schools
Lakota Local Schools is the second largest district in the region and the eighth largest school system in Ohio, serving more than 16,000 students in 20 schools in Butler County. The average teacher salary at Lakota is $78,860, according to state data.
The district's graduation rate, which correlates to 2021 graduates, exceeded state standards at 94.3%.
The district gained seven points in its performance index this year, but Lakota spokesperson Betsy Fuller said district educators "also understand that we have work to do to continue addressing learning loss related to the pandemic."
"We are also incredibly proud to have met the gifted performance index at all eight of our elementary schools for the first time. This is due to a shift in how the district provides gifted services, increasing the number of students served by more than 325%," Fuller wrote in an email to The Enquirer. She said residents will receive the district's annual quality profile in the coming weeks.
Here's how the state rated Lakota. Each category is out of five stars:
Achievement ‒ four stars.
Progress ‒ two stars.
Gap closing ‒ four stars.
Graduation ‒ four stars.
Early literacy ‒ three stars.
Ohio report card: Mason City Schools
Mason City Schools is the largest school district in Warren County, serving nearly 9,900 students in four school buildings.
William Mason High School has the most lead/senior professional teachers in the state followed by Mason Intermediate Elementary School. Together, the district has 114 lead/senior professional teachers. Educators in those categories have a master's degree or higher, nine years of experience and demonstrated high performance through a master teacher portfolio or a national board certification program. The average teacher salary at Mason is $88,881, according to state data.
The district had a 100% attendance rate, according to state data, with no students considered chronically absent.
The district's graduation rate, which correlates to 2021 graduates, is 97.3%.
Here's how the state rated Mason City Schools:
Achievement ‒ five stars.
Progress ‒ four stars.
Gap closing ‒ five stars.
Graduation ‒ five stars.
Early literacy ‒ three stars.
Ohio report card: Hamilton City Schools
Hamilton City Schools serves more than 9,000 students in 13 schools in Butler County.
The district has a 79.4% graduation rate, which correlates to 2021 graduates and is well below the state standard of 90%. The district's two high schools had vastly different rates: 97.4% for Hamilton High School (the highest rate in decades, superintendent Mike Holbrook said) and 40.8% for Miami School.
According to state data, the average teacher salary at Hamilton City Schools is $61,383.
Holbrook said the district continues to focus on two specific report card components: progress and gap closing. Gap closing is particularly significant due to COVID-19 impacts and pandemic-related learning loss, he said.
"The district is proud of its work and the vision and direction for the future. The encouraging results of the state report card validate the unwavering support of the Hamilton BOE and the hard work of district educators and administrators," Holbrook wrote in an email to The Enquirer.
Here's how the state rated Hamilton City Schools:
Achievement ‒ three stars.
Progress ‒ four stars.
Gap closing ‒ four stars.
Graduation ‒ one star.
Early literacy ‒ two stars.
Ohio report card: Fairfield City Schools
There were nearly 8,900 students enrolled at Fairfield City Schools' 10 school buildings last year, according to state data.
The district's graduation rate of 92.5% correlates to 2021 graduates.
The average teacher salary at Fairfield is $66,210.
"As we move beyond the pandemic, it is especially encouraging to know Fairfield students are growing at a higher rate than state expectations and that we are significantly exceeding expectations related to closing educational gaps for our student subgroups," Fairfield director of curriculum and instruction Mandy Aug wrote in a statement to The Enquirer.
But the state report card is just "one part of our story," Aug wrote.
"It cannot fully capture all the great work our teachers, administrators, and support staff do for our students each and every day," she said.
Here's how the state rated Fairfield:
Achievement ‒ three stars.
Progress ‒ four stars.
Gap closing ‒ five stars.
Graduation ‒ three stars.
Early literacy ‒ three stars.
Ohio report card: Northwest Local Schools
Northwest Local Schools is the second largest school system in Hamilton County after Cincinnati Public Schools. It serves more than 8,000 students in 12 schools.
The district exceeded the state's graduation standards in 2021 with a 93.5% graduation rate, according to state data.
Teachers at Northwest Schools make, on average, $68,338.
Here's how the state rated Northwest Local Schools:
Achievement ‒ two stars.
Progress ‒ three stars.
Gap closing ‒ four stars.
Graduation ‒ four stars.
Early literacy ‒ two stars.
Ohio report card: West Clermont Local Schools
The largest school system in Clermont County, West Clermont Schools serves about 7,800 students in nine schools.
West Clermont's 2021 graduates met state standards with a 91% graduation rate.
The district's teachers make, on average, $64,079, according to state data.
Here's how the state rated West Clermont Schools:
Achievement ‒ three stars.
Progress ‒ two stars.
Gap closing ‒ four stars.
Graduation ‒ three stars.
Early literacy ‒ two stars.
Ohio report card: Oak Hills Local Schools
Oak Hills serves more than 7,300 students in nine schools in Hamilton County.
The district exceeded state graduation standards in 2021 with a graduation rate of 93.1%. According to state data, the district pays teachers, on average, $80,398.
Here's how the state rated Oak Hills:
Achievement ‒ four stars.
Progress ‒ two stars.
Gap closing ‒ four stars.
Graduation ‒ four stars.
Early literacy ‒ four stars.
Ohio report card: Forest Hills School District
Forest Hills, which serves more than 7,000 students in nine schools in Hamilton County, scored among the top 10 districts in the region on this year's state report card. The district scored five stars in achievement, gap closing and graduation and four stars in progress and early literacy.
The district also ranked in the region's 10 lowest chronic absenteeism rates at 12%. Students who miss 18 or more school days, regardless of excused absences, are considered chronically absent.
The district exceeded state standards in 2021 with a 96.5% graduation rate.
The average teacher salary at Forest Hills is $81,946, according to state data.
"FHSD is thrilled that ODE rated our district as exceeding state standards or higher on all five categories it evaluated," district spokesperson Josh Bazan wrote in an email to The Enquirer. "It's one of many recent indicators that the district is committed to its purpose to empower each student to achieve personal success every day."
The district's high schools, Anderson and Turpin, also were recently awarded the Governor's Thomas Edison Awards for Excellence in STEM education and student research by the Ohio Academy of Science, Bazan said. And the district is one of 16 statewide to be recognized for its work in positive behavioral interventions and supports, which helps students academically and emotionally throughout their schooling.
Here's how the state rated Forest Hills:
Achievement ‒ five stars.
Progress ‒ four stars.
Gap closing ‒ five stars.
Graduation ‒ five stars.
Early literacy ‒ four stars.
Ohio report card: Milford Exempted Village School District
Milford is the second largest school system in Clermont County, serving about 6,400 students in 10 school buildings.
The district exceeded state expectations in 2021 with a 96.4% graduation rate, according to state data.
Milford teachers make, on average, $75,964.
Here's how the state rated Milford Schools:
Achievement ‒ four stars.
Progress ‒ four stars.
Gap closing ‒ five stars.
Graduation ‒ five stars.
Early literacy ‒ three stars.
Ohio report card: Springboro Community City Schools
Springboro Schools, which serves more than 5,700 students in six Warren County school buildings, scored nearly perfect on this year's report card, receiving five stars in all categories but early literacy, for which the district scored four out of five stars.
Springboro also had one of the lowest chronic absenteeism rates in the region at 8.6%, second only to Mason City Schools.
The district had an exceptionally high graduation rate in 2021 at 98.6%, according to state data.
Teachers in the district earn an average yearly salary of $68,710.
“This is only one part of Springboro Schools’ story,” superintendent Carrie Hester said in a Thursday news release from the district. “Report cards focus on assessments and what the district has already done, and not how the district plans to make improvements in the future. To get a full, clear picture of our district’s efforts, I encourage you to volunteer at our schools, attend our many events, talk to educators, parents, students, and community partners, and view our website, social media, and district Strategic Plan. There are a lot of great things happening in Springboro Schools!”
Here's how the state rated Springboro Schools:
Achievement ‒ five stars.
Progress ‒ five stars.
Gap closing ‒ five stars.
Graduation ‒ five stars.
Early literacy ‒ four stars.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: The best and the worst of southwest Ohio schools' report cards
