Solon Schools Among Best in Ohio, Says State Report Card

SOLON, OH - The school district has been rated as one of the best school systems in the entire state, according to Ohio Department of Education report cards. Yet Solon's superintendent feels the state's grading and tracking system is deeply flawed.

The Department of Education grades districts on six categories: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, Prepared for Success, and K-3 Literacy. The Achievement category measures the number of students who passed the state's tests and how well they performed on those tests. Progress is based on how students have developed based on their past performance. Gap Closing is based off a school district's ability to help groups of students the state has deemed to be the "most vulnerable." Graduation Rate is based on the percentage of students successfully graduating after four or five years. Prepared for Success is graded on how well students are prepared for college or a technical career. Finally, K-3 Literacy Rate is based on how successful the schools are at getting struggling readers up to speed.

Solon's grades were:

• Achievement - A
• Progress - A
• Gap Closing - B
• Graduation Rate - A
• Prepared for Success - A
• K-3 Literacy - Not Rated

The K-3 Literacy component was only applicable to school districts that had 5% or more of their K-3 students reading below their grade level.

Solon was one of only two school districts in Ohio to receive a grade of A in the achievement category, with a score of 110.6 (the highest in the state). All seven of the district's schools were in top 50 in statewide achievement among public non-charter schools.

While Solon School's Superintendent Joseph Regano praised his students and teachers for their performance, he also cautioned that the state accountability system has serious flaws when so few districts and students statewide are showing improving results. Due to the continuing changes in the assessment system and dramatic ramping up of cut scores on those assessments each year, the results are losing important context, he added.

“Rigor is important to ensure students are prepared for college and the workforce,” he says. “The standards focus on the most important concepts, issues and ideas as well as ways of communicating, reasoning and investigating within each subject area. We just need the assessment system to appropriately measure this learning for all students.”

Photo from the Ohio Department of Education