Lorain County superintendents focus on educating in a pandemic over this year's state report card

State report cards came out Tuesday, minus the letter grades and several performance measures normally included for school districts. State and federal tests were waived for students in the spring after schools were shuttered mid-March. Without those end-of-year exams, the vast majority of key components on districts' annual report cards are missing. In Lorain County, several superintendents questioned what the point of the report card was at a time when districts are focusing on educating and caring for children amid a pandemic. Elyria Schools Superintendent Ann Schloss said high-stakes tests, like those used to determine report card components, shouldn't be the focus. "I really feel right now in the middle of this pandemic with everything going on — kids getting back to school, some kids learning from home, the anxiety, the stress that's been put on families and our students and our staff — everybody's learning something new and learning different ways to get a real accurate count of where anybody is on a high-stakes test. I just don't believe it can be done," she said. Normally, state report cards measure six key components — achievement, progress, gap closing, improving at-risk K-3 readers, graduation rate and preparedness for success — with subcategories and respective letter grades assigned below several components. This year, the only data provided to districts is the graduation rate, as it is a full year behind other data, preparing graduates for success and an incomplete look at schools' efforts to meet the third-grade reading guarantee. Schloss noted there were no spring tests for third grade reading, meaning data on how many students had moved on track during their third grade school year was not available. According to state data, 94.9 percent of Elyria Schools third graders met the guarantee for promotion to fourth grade. Roughly half were not on track for their grade level during the fall diagnostic. Read: Ohio senators look to extend state report card waiver through 2022. Graduation rates are complete for all districts, as it measures the class of 2019 — a full year behind the majority of the rest of the data included in the set. Elyria Schools' four-year graduation rate is 85.7 percent, in line with both the state average and similar districts, according to the Ohio Department of Education. It's five-year rate is above the state average, at 91.1 percent. In Columbia Schools, Superintendent Graig Bansek said he honestly hadn't had time to look through his district's report card — instead spending the day working to get technology in students' hands for remote learning. "I have no idea why the state would put them out with so few data points and the virus and the situation schools (are in)," he said. "There are just so many different things that we should be focused on other things than report card data right now." Still, he said the information is useful — things like attendance and graduation rates — but for this year "there's really nothing there that can benefit us as a school district." Columbia Schools' four-year graduation rate is 94.7 percent, and 100 percent for its five-year rate. Farther north, Avon Lake Schools Superintendent Bob Scott said he understands the report card is a requirement but its limited data will do little to change how his district operates. "Even without the test scores, when you look at things like graduation rate and daily attendance, that's all because of the culture and because everybody's working together and they work hard," he said. Its four-year graduation rate is 96.7 percent, while its five-year is just 0.2 percent higher. Looking at the financial data included, Scott questioned how the state could even compare it using this year's finances with performance index scores from two years ago. "I mean it was good for us financially where we are … but I can't even figure out where they got the stuff for the chart because there can't be a performance index for this year," he said. The state includes financial data from districts to calculate per-pupil and classroom-level spending, including them in addition to academic components. In it, performance-index data — which measures student achievement on state tests — is used to compare districts' spending and performance. This year is a grace period for districts — no letter grades means no fear of falling into academic distress. But for Lorain Schools, it also means no hope of getting out without legislative intervention. At a school board meeting Tuesday evening, CEO Jeff Graham noted the law that allowed for the waiver in sections of the report card also allows for districts to be held harmless with this year's lack of data points. "The downside for us is we're stuck," he said. Youngstown and East Cleveland schools are in the same situation, though being held harmless means none of the three districts will advance further under state purview. House Bill 70 based state takeovers of the three districts on report card grades, including value added and performance index scores. During this General Assembly, several laws have been introduced to remedy state takeovers though none has garnered enough support from both sides of the aisle for passage. Lorain Schools' four-year graduation rate is 77.4 percent, a slight bump from the class of 2018, but still lagging behind the state and similar district averages. Its five-year rate is 81.1 percent. As part of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, states are required to put out a report card for school districts annually. Ohio's report card has come under fire at local and state levels, both as a mechanism for state takeovers and as measuring poverty more than academics. To search for a district's report card, visit the Ohio Department of Education at https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.