LEXINGTON — Students from Lexington Local Schools earned some of the top early literacy scores in the state, according to recent data from the Ohio Department of Education.
Every fall, the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce releases its Ohio School Report Cards for public schools, including traditional and community schools, career tech districts and dropout recovery programs.
One of the report card’s metrics is early literacy: a measure of reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
“We are pleased to see we earned 5 stars on our Early Literacy component and were in the top 30 in the state for that component’s percentage (95th percentile),” Supt. Jeremy Secrist said in an email.
Overall, the district retained its four star rating. Lexington’s districtwide scores broke down as follows:
- Achievement: 4 stars
- Progress: 2 stars
- Gap Closing: 5 stars
- Graduation: 5 stars
- Early Literacy: 5 stars
- College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness: 3 stars
At the school building level, Lexington Junior High and Lexington High School earned 3.5 stars. Central Elementary and Eastern Elementary earned 4.5 stars. Western Elementary School earned 5 stars.
“We are both proud of our students, and appreciative of the efforts of our staff,” Secrist said. “We continue to be towards the top in the area on our Performance Index as a district, which is the expectation every year.”
What each component means
Achievement is a measure of how well students performed on state tests.
Progress is a measure of the growth students are making based on their past performance.
Gap Closing is a measure of the reduction in educational gaps among students of different races, ones with special needs and those from economically disadvantaged families.
Graduation is a measure of the four-year adjusted cohort graduation rate and the five-year adjusted cohort graduation rate.
Early Literacy is a measure of reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness is a measure of how prepared Ohio’s students are for future opportunities, whether training in a technical field or preparing for work or college.
“This school year we will focus on better understanding and improving measures such as Student Progress and the College, Career Workforce, and Military Readiness component,” the superintendent added.
School report cards evaluate buildings and districts on six components with a one-to-five star scale with half-star increments.
One star means a district needs significant support to meet state standards. Three stars means a district has met expectations. Five stars means a district has significantly exceeded expectations.
This year’s report cards include new post-secondary readiness metric
This is the first year report cards have a rating for the College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness (CCWMR) component. Previous versions of the report card included data, but not a rating.
The Ohio Education Association, a group representing teachers and school staff across the state, commended the use of CCWMR data, but said the report card is still too reliant on standardized testing data.
“For too long, these state report cards have been overly reliant on standardized test scores to determine ratings, ignoring the fact that these scores are a snapshot in time of a few stressful days in a student’s life rather than a measure of their ability or mastery,” OEA President Jeff Wensing said.
“Including CCWMR measures in the school ratings helps Ohioans get a more accurate view of the quality education public schools provide.”
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce also acknowledges the grade card has its limitations.
“Everyone has a role in the success of Ohio schools, and community members are encouraged to learn more about what’s happening in their local schools,” an ODEW press release stated.
“Talking with parents and neighbors, browsing school and district websites, and connecting with educators are among the ways to gain a complete understanding of students’ educational experiences.”
