COLUMBUS, Ohio — School districts across the state will see multiple changes for the upcoming school year, including how schools are graded by the state, but how the change will impact the districts and how parents choose the right schools for their children remains to be seen.
What You Need To Know
- The 5-Star rating system will allow districts more ways to show growth
- Parents looking for more information than a rating may still have trouble as the categories are broad and do not go into every aspect of what a school offers
- Resources to help kids improve on state tests will still be needed for the system to really work
The Ohio Federation of Teachers said the new rating system is a step in the right direction.
“We help to prevent any district from going into, you know, a one-star rating or coming under the academic distress commissioning in the future,” Darold Johnson, Legislative Director at OFT, said of the system’s implementation.
Still, with a little more information being provided to parents, it’s not clear if it will be enough, since oftentimes they are looking for detailed information about schools to get a clear picture of what is going on in a particular school.
“It’s hard to say, with these broad categories and still based on test scores, that we’re going to really get an accurate sense of what’s going on in these districts but this is definitely a lot better than what we have now,” said Johnson.
Rating System:
- 5 Stars – Significantly exceeds state standards
- 4 Stars – Exceeds state standards
- 3 Stars – Meets state standards
- 2 Stars – Needs support to meet state standards
- 1 Star – Needs significant support to meet state standards
Once the system is implemented, Johnson said it’ll be important to make sure the necessary dollars are flowing to districts to help kids who need it to help them improve on tests.
He said without the resources, they won’t see the kind of progress desired in urban, rural or economically-disadvantaged districts, alike, which could work against the work that the state’s looking to accomplish.
It’s unclear if districts will get a fresh start with the new rating system or not. Regardless, Johnson said only time will tell if the system works.
