Trending
Conducting business in a certain manner because it feels comfortable or simply because it's the way it always has been done is never the right reason to avoid change.
But neither is changing the way things are done if it is simply an attempt to alter the outcome or the perception of the outcome.
We fear the latter might be the case when it comes to Ohio school performance evaluations.
Thanks to recent changes made by state legislators, 2022 school report cards analyzing the performance of Ohio school districts and individual school buildings no longer will use an "A-F" letter grade system.
Instead, district successes or failures will be graded on a five-star system, detailing whether a district achieved the state's requirements in six areas currently measured to rate schools, including overall achievement on tests, literacy and graduation rates.
"Next to the stars will be descriptions stating whether districts need significant assistance in achieving what is required in the category, are meeting established standards or are doing exceptionally well in preparing their students," state Rep. Don Jones, R-Freeport, said recently. "We are trying to make the report card a lot more informative. Very few people could understand it."
We, too, believe the report cards must be informative and understandable, but changes to the system also can create confusion. Changes to the rating system seem to come frequently through the years, and each time it occurs, we can bet it will bring frustrations from school officials and parents. Those of us at the newspapers have difficulty figuring it out, too, when trying to provide information and clarity for our readers.
It seems that when those involved get comfortable figuring out the report card and how grades/ratings are determined, something else changes. The lack of continuity can be disconcerting.
Jones, one of the new report card's sponsors, said the version being eliminated too often highlighted the negatives happening in school districts. He suggested people too often felt a district receiving a "C" grade was not getting the job done, so considered it a bad grade.
Perhaps, but a "C" grade to us represents mediocrity. It's a passing grade, but not an excellent grade. A "C" grade does provide room for improvement.
While it's probably not the intent of our legislators and department of education, it seems the Ohio report cards have come to be used as a reason to criticize our local schools, much more often than they have been a point of pride.
Let's face it. We rate schools for the same reason we rate student performance -- to ensure they are meeting performance standards. When schools don't live up to expectations, we should concentrate more on finding the flaws and improving how we educate, and less about analyzing whether there is a better way to rank the schools.
If the rating system is working, successful schools and districts will rise to the top, whether rated with letter grades or numbers of stars.
At the end of the day, the evaluation system is far less important than the fact that there is a clear benchmark with fair and measurable standards.
No matter what the system, the goal always must be to help our young people gain the knowledge and skills that they will carry into adulthood. We believe the vast majority of teachers and administrators are working hard everyday to achieve that goal.
The beckoning school year again will be a continuation of COVID-related challenges. Let us all hope a return to remote learning and widespread mask mandates aren't on the way to our schools. The approaching school year will be difficult enough onto itself. So, let's stop changing the rules and give our teachers and our kids a fair chance to understand the benchmarks and to work toward them.