The Ohio Department of Education will release report cards on the state’s more than 600 school districts this week. Meanwhile, a Republican lawmaker is still pushing his bill that would once again overhaul the report card system, saying those simple-to-understand letters are hiding essential information about schools.
Rep. Mike Duffey (R-Worthington) says the likelihood is low that poor, diverse districts will do well on the A-F report card system, launched four years ago. He wants a layout showing more comparative data, such as statewide average – like a driver sees in a car. “You wouldn’t put an A or an F on the front of your dashboard of your car – you wouldn’t be able to drive it. So we need educators and parents to be able to see the data behind what’s going on and how they compare and stack up against other school districts," Duffy said.
Duffey’s bill is in a House committee.
Last year, just under 4% of districts got As in the performance index category, which measures student achievement. More than 80% got Fs.