Ohio's Education Department has released report cards for the state's school districts; and only six districts received an A for performance, down from 37 last year.
Cincinnati Public Schools received a D for performance, a C for K-3rd grade literacy, and an F for graduation rate.
More than half of Ohio’s public school districts received a C grade in the performance category.
A statement from the district calls the results "problematic", pointing out students spent time studying for a harder statewide test that was discontinued.
Interim Superintendent of Public Instruction Lonny Rivera says the drop was not unexpected. He calls it a “challenge”, but says Ohio is raising “the bar for student learning. We fully expect our students and schools to rise to the new expectations as they adjust.”
The statement from Cincinnati Public Schools says that, overall, local graduation rates and average ACT scores have risen. The CPS response also points out the district received an A for progress, for 4th through 8th grade students in reading and mathematics, and for academically gifted students.
However, for progress among disabled students, the district received an F.
The state report card looks at whether students are succeeding, no matter the race, ethnicity, disability or economic background. And in Cincinnati the answer is “no”. CPS received only 23 points on that chart, a failing grade.
Financially speaking, CPS spends about $11,039 per pupil, compared with a state average of $9,228. The report also says 64.7 percent of funds are spent on classroom instruction, which is close to the statewide average.
The Ohio Department of Education has posted the entire report card online.
