Most Champaign County schools receive overall rating of 4 or higher on state report card

Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem rated highest overall, and Urbana scored the lowest.
Most Champaign County school districts received an overall rating of 4 or higher on the Ohio School Report Cards list, with Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools scoring one of the highest ratings. In this file photo, real world applications bring English Language Arts to life in the classroom at Mechanicsburg Middle School last year. FILE

Credit: Contributed

Credit: Contributed

Most Champaign County school districts received an overall rating of 4 or higher on the Ohio School Report Cards list, with Mechanicsburg Exempted Village Schools scoring one of the highest ratings. In this file photo, real world applications bring English Language Arts to life in the classroom at Mechanicsburg Middle School last year. FILE

Several Champaign County school districts received an overall rating of 4 or higher and most were above 3 in all categories on the Ohio School Report Cards list.

Mechanicsburg and West Liberty-Salem rated overall the highest with a 4.5, and Urbana scored the lowest with a 3.

New report card ratings released by the Ohio Department of Education this month show school districts received an overall rating based on a new 1- to 5-star rating, with 5 being the highest. An overall rating of at least 3 stars means a district or school meets state standards, according to the ODE.

Mechanicsburg

Mechanicsburg received one of the highest overall ratings with 4.5 stars, as well as one of the highest gap closing ratings with a 5 and one of the highest progress ratings with a 4. They also scored a 4 in achievement and graduation, and a 3 in early literacy.

“We are extremely proud of the continued success as shown through this year’s state report card both at the district level and across all buildings,” said Superintendent Danielle Prohaska.

She cited “how we use multiple sources of data, set professional development priorities, and allocate time and resources to promote deep learning experiences across all grade levels.”

The district had a performance index, which measures state test performance, of 85.5%, a slight decline from last year’s 87.2%.

When it comes to graduation rate, the district’s overall and four-year rates decreased. They had an overall rate of 95.4%, compared to last year’s 97.9%. The four-year rate was 93.1% compared to last year’s 97.6%. The district also had the highest college, career, workforce and military readiness percentage in the county at 58.3%.

“We are reflecting on the state’s report card and making continued adjustments to be sure we are providing adequate time, support, and staff to continue to grow as a district,” Prohaska said. “We are (also) proud of all the other measures of success that we do internally to ensure we are creating deeper learning experiences for all students.”

Compared to last year’s star ratings, Mechanicsburg had a 1 increase in progress, stayed the same in in achievement, gap closing and early literacy, and decreased by 1 in progress.

Graham

Graham scored an overall rating of a 4 but had one of the county’s highest ratings in gap closing with a 5 and progress with a 4. They also scored a 4 in graduation, and a 3 in achievement and early literacy.

“I am proud of our staff for the work they have put in to support our students and the growth that our students have shown,” said Graham Superintendent Chad Lensman. “We have a clear focus as a district, leading to improved percentages and ratings ... The growth we are seeing is reaffirming the work taking place across the district.”

The district had a performance index, which measures state test performance, of 79%, an increase from last year’s 74.2%.

When it comes to graduation rate, the district’s overall and four-year rates increased. They had an overall rate of 96%, compared to last year’s 91.7%. The four-year rate was 96.7% compared to last year’s 93.1%. The district also had a college, career, workforce and military readiness percentage at 43.1%.

Lensman said the district’s strategic plan has provided a “clear focus” for what they are working on in the district, and all decisions are aligned with that plan.

Compared to last year’s star ratings, Graham increased by 2 in gap closing and progress, increased by 1 in graduation, and stayed the same in achievement and early literacy.

Triad

Triad received an overall rating of 3.5 stars and scored one of the highest ratings in graduation with a 5. They also received a 4 in achievement, 3 in gap closing and early literacy, and 2 in progress, the lowest in the county.

“We are very pleased with our ratings in certain areas,” said Superintendent Vickie Maruniak.

The district had a performance index of 80.7%, a decrease from last year’s 84.2%.

When it comes to graduation rate, the district increased overall and four-year rates. They had an overall rate of 97.3%, compared to last year’s 95.5%. The four-year rate was 98.5% compared to last year’s 94.3%. The district also had a 25% in college, career, workforce and military readiness, the lowest in the county.

Maruniak pointed out the graduation rate improved by 2 stars, which they “believe is a huge achievement,” and were proud of their achievement score but are working closely with teachers to “find how we can grow to 5 stars next year.”

Compared to last year’s star ratings, Triad increased by 2 in graduation, stayed the same in achievement and early literacy, decreased by 2 in gap closing and decreased by 1 in progress.

Urbana

Urbana received an overall rating of 3 stars. The district also scored a 4 in gap closing, a 3 in achievement, early literacy and progress, and a 2 in graduation, the lowest in the county.

The district had a performance index of 70.6%, almost the same as last year’s 70.4%.

When it comes to graduation rate, the district’s overall and four-year rates decreased. They had an overall rate of 86.6%, compared to last year’s 89.5%. The four-year rate was 81.1% compared to last year’s 88.5%. The district also had 25.8% in college, career, workforce and military readiness, the second lowest in the county.

Compared to last year’s star ratings, Urbana increased by 1 in gap closing, stayed the same in achievement, progress and graduation, and decreased by 1 in early literacy.

West Liberty-Salem

West Liberty-Salem Schools received one of the county’s highest ratings overall with a 4.5, and in gap closing and graduation with a 5, as well as the highest in achievement with a 5. They also scored a 3 in early literacy and progress.

The district had a performance index of 90.2%, an increase from last year’s 88.5%.

When it comes to graduation rate, the district’s overall rate and four-year rates almost stayed the same. They had an overall rate of 97.4%, compared to last year’s 97.6%. The four-year rate was 97.8% compared to last year’s 97.9%. The district also had 52.7% in college, career, workforce and military readiness, the second highest in the county.

Compared to last year’s star ratings, West Liberty-Salem increased by 1 in gap closing, achievement and progress, and stayed the same in graduation and early literacy.

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