Schools

State Report Cards: Grades Slip in Strongsville Schools during Strike Year

District goes from 'Excellent with Distinction' to B's and F's

The Strongsville schools, which last year celebrated a decade of "Excellent" ratings on state report cards by achieving "Excellent with Distinction," saw its grades slip this year.

The district met 21 of the 24 standards, rating a B under the new state rating system, but garnered failing grades on "value added" sections that indicate whether students exceeded  the standard one year of progress during the school year.

Superintendent John Krupinski called the report card "an anomaly" compared to the previous 11 years.

"Several of the grades are not indicative of our school district or our student's achievement," he said. "However, those grades are disappointing and unacceptable."

The tests on which the report cards were based were given to students during the two-month teachers' strike this spring.

Asked whether the strike affected students' performance on the tests, Krupinski offered a quote by Henry Ford: "Don't find fault; find a solution."

The district failed to meet standards in fifth-grade math and science and in eighth-grade science, the report card shows

The overall performance index dropped from 104.5 last year to 101.1 this year, which translates to a B under the new grading system.

Still, Krupinski said he believes that if the state had rated schools using the old methods, Strongsville would have done well overall.

"I think we probably still would have been rated 'excellent,'" he said.

The schools received an A for its four-year graduation rate and a B for its 5-year graduation rate. It got all F's, though, on value-added scores and on Annual Measurable Objectives.

Krupinski said the district will analyze the data and create a plan for improvement.

 


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