Note: This story was updated with additional information
The state has released its latest school report cards that show how well Ohio students performed academically last school year on state tests and other measures.
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce officials say the report cards are designed to help parents, community members, educators and policymakers understand how students in their school districts are performing and to allow them to celebrate their achievements and identify areas for improvement. Critics of the report cards say the results rely too heavily on testing and tend to reflect a community’s poverty level.
To view your specific district or school individually or to view the results for charter schools, Career Technical Planning Districts and schools that receive the dropout recovery and prevention report card, visit reportcard.education.ohio.gov.
How to read the Ohio school report cards
Unlike the report cards students bring home with the A-F grading scale, the state grades school districts and each school building using a star rating system.
Three stars mean the district is meeting the state’s expectations. One and two stars mean the district performed below expectations, and four and five stars mean the district exceeded expectations.
Stars are given for overall performance and for each of the six categories that form the overall performance score. The six categories are achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation, early literacy and college, career or military service readiness.
Here’s what each category measures:
Achievement: Tracks how students in grades 3-12 performed on state tests and whether they met state thresholds. The ratings are based on the tests that students took during the 2024-2025 school year.
Progress: Shows how much improvement students have made year over year by comparing the most recent state test scores with prior state test scores. Three stars mean students demonstrated that they learned as much as they were expected to learn over a school year. Progress can be an important measure for districts with lower achievement scores because it can show whether districts are helping students catch up faster, even if they are still behind.
Gap closing: Measures whether students of different races, income levels and abilities meet state standards in English language arts, math and graduation. Chronic absenteeism, gifted services and support for English learners are factors in this category.
Graduation: Tracks the percentage of students in the class of 2024 who graduated within four years of entering high school and the students in the class of 2023 who graduated within five years.
Early literacy: Shows how well the district has helped its struggling readers get back on track, how well students performed on third grade reading tests and the percentage of third graders who were promoted to fourth grade.
Performance index: The performance index is a measurement of all the district’s test scores combined into one number. The higher the index, the better students in that district performed on state tests.
College, career, workforce and military readiness: Shows how ready students in the class of 2024 were to pursue post-secondary education, the workforce or the armed forces by using metrics such as state tests, Advanced Placement exams, military enlistment, honors diplomas and technical assessments.
This category was tracked as part of last year’s report cards but was not counted toward a district’s overall rating until this year.
Some Portage districts struggle
Some Portage County school districts that struggled last year had a similar showing this year, although some scores improved slightly.
Windham Exempted Village School District earned 3 stars overall, up from 2.5 stars the past two years.
Superintendent Michael Dobran said the district’s performance index climbed 4.5 points this year, a sign that students were doing better overall on standardized testing.
“I’m really proud of everyone in the district,” Dobran said. “There are always great things happening in the schools.”
Ravenna earned 2.5 stars, the same as the past two years. Superintendent Ben Ribelin said despite the overall score not changing in recent years, the district is “continuing to push momentum forward.”
“We know we still have work to do, but we are firmly committed to rising above and delivering the high-quality education our students deserve,” he stated in an email.
Ribelin pointed to academic gains at various grade levels in the report cards, including a 3-star rating at Ravenna High School with 4 stars for progress; 3.5 stars for West Main Elementary School with a 5-star rating for progress, and gains in elementary language arts after a Science of Reading program was implemented. The district is rolling out a new math program for all grade levels, and Ribelin said he hopes to see similar gains in math scores thanks to that.
“The Ravenna School District staff remains committed to continuous improvement and academic excellence,” Ribelin said. “Together, we will keep moving forward − building on our foundation, strengthening outcomes, and preparing students for a bright future.”
Some districts excel
Some Portage County school districts excelled, with Aurora earning a perfect 5 stars on its report card.
Aurora Superintendent Paul Milcetich stated in an email that the district has achieved a top ranking every year since the system was first implemented.
“As we like to emphasize in our schools, we are about so much more than external audits and test scores with a holistic focus on The Green Standard and our Strategic Vision as our compass, but this recognition is still an affirmation of which we are proud and should celebrate,” he stated in an email. “So congratulations to our board, administrative team, staff members, students, and entire school community. This level of achievement does not occur without hard work and a commitment to education by everyone involved in the process of helping maximize student growth and well being.”
Kent City Schools also did well, scoring an overall ranking of 4.5 stars.
Kent Superintendent Tom Larkin said this was the third year in a row that the district has received an “Exceeding Expectations” from the ODEW.
“This designation is the result of responsible and hard-working students, supportive parents, and a staff dedicated to doing what is best for each individual student,” Larkin said. “We are proud of our consistency in earning 4.5 stars, but continue to strive for the 5 stars. We are grateful and appreciative of the consistent support of our wonderful families and the Kent community as a whole.”
This year’s graduation score improved over the previous year, which Larkin credited school staff for providing interventions for students at risk of not earning their diploma.
“Our high school administration, counselors and teachers committed themselves to proactively identifying students on the graduation tightrope,” he said. “They met with students and provided each student with the necessary individualized support and intervention.”
One score that did come down from last year was early literacy. Larkin said the district will continue to use its multi-tiered system of support “to improve our data-informed and collaborative instruction to improve outcomes for each of our students.”
BREAKDOWN OF PORTAGE COUNTY DISTRICTS’ REPORT CARDS
Here’s how many each district in Portage County was graded for the most recent school year:
Aurora City Schools
Overall: 5 stars
Achievement: 5 stars
Progress: 5 stars
Gap Closing: 5 stars
Graduation: 5 stars
Early Literacy: 4 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 4 stars
Performance Index: 104.5
Crestwood Local Schools
Overall: 3.5 stars
Achievement: 3 stars
Progress: 4 stars
Gap Closing: 3 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 2 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
Performance Index: 86.0
Field Local Schools
Overall: 4 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 3 stars
Gap Closing: 5 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 3 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
Performance Index: 90.6
James A. Garfield
Overall: 4 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 5 stars
Gap Closing: 4 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 3 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
Performance Index: 90.9
Kent City Schools
Overall: 4.5 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 5 stars
Gap Closing: 5 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 2 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 4 stars
Performance Index: 89.2
Mogadore Local Schools
Overall: 3.5 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 2 stars
Gap Closing: 3 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 3 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
Performance Index: 90.7
Ravenna City Schools
Overall: 2.5 stars
Achievement: 2 stars
Progress: 2 stars
Gap Closing: 2 stars
Graduation: 3 stars
Early Literacy: 2 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
Performance Index: 71.4
Rootstown Local Schools
Overall: 4 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 3 stars
Gap Closing: 4 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 3 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
Performance Index: 88.1
Southeast Local Schools
Overall: 3 stars
Achievement: 3 stars
Progress: 1 star
Gap Closing: 3 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 3 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
Performance Index: 84.4
Streetsboro City Schools
Overall: 4 stars
Achievement: 4 stars
Progress: 5 stars
Gap Closing: 5 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 2 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
Performance Index: 88.0
Waterloo Local Schools
Overall: 3.5 stars
Achievement: 3 stars
Progress: 4 stars
Gap Closing: 3 stars
Graduation: 4 stars
Early Literacy: 1 star
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
Performance Index: 83.3
Windham Exempted Schools
Overall: 3 stars
Achievement: 2 stars
Progress: 3 stars
Gap Closing: 3 stars
Graduation: 3 stars
Early Literacy: 2 stars
College Career Workforce and Military Readiness: 2 stars
Performance Index: 70.7
Reporter April Helms contributed to this story
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Portage County districts receive grades on report cards from Ohio
Reporting by Diane Smith, Ravenna Record-Courier / Record-Courier
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