Ohio Excels president issues statement on new school report cards
Ohio Excels President Lisa Gray issued the following statement Friday following the annual release of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce’s report cards.
“Ohio Excels has long advocated for clear, easy-to-understand school report cards to provide parents, students, educators and community members with an accurate measure of how their schools are performing. The Department of Education and Workforce’s report cards released today meet that goal and are a great tool that provides us with valuable insights on key components critical to our students’ learning.
“While not everyone will like the scores and ratings they see, the report card can help stakeholders understand the challenges we continue to face as a state. Among the hard lessons contained in this year’s report cards is the realization that educational progress made after schools emerged from the pandemic has slowed. Worse, students in some grades and subjects are performing at levels lower than they did before the pandemic.
“For example, these latest school report cards indicate that student performance in both reading and, particularly, mathematics, still remains too low. This is especially true for students from diverse racial backgrounds and those facing economic disadvantage, who continue to experience the greatest setbacks.
“The good news: Communities can use the information provided by the report cards to help their schools do better. These ratings can start conversations, build urgency for action and help unite stakeholders to improve student outcomes. Without question, the report cards underscore the need to improve math teaching and learning, and concerned residents, parents and educators should use this fact to push for more math supports.
“While we applaud the hard work of Ohio’s educators in raising overall academic achievement, we must continue to work together to address challenges that are important to the long-term success of our students. Ohio Excels, alongside our state’s business leaders, remains optimistic and dedicated to working collaboratively with all stakeholders to help address challenges and support every student’s success.
“Fortunately, the future looks much brighter for students thanks to investments made in the last state budget, particularly those focused on the science of reading. There is a strong expectation that investments championed by Gov. Mike DeWine and supported by the General Assembly will spark long-term improvement. The investments began this school year, so we are optimistic that the reading scores on the report card for last year will only grow as students and educators get the support they need.
“However, especially at a time when Ohio is gaining thousands of exciting high-tech jobs, it is critical that we remain steadfast in our commitment to providing students with the necessary supports and interventions to help them become proficient in both math and literacy. We must be focused and data-driven in our approach — our students, families and communities are counting on us.”
About Ohio Excels: Ohio Excels is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization led by leaders of Ohio’s business community who are committed to helping improve educational outcomes for Ohio’s students and ensuring that all K-12 schools prepare students for success in the next step of their lives, whether it is higher education, the military, or the workforce. Since its creation in 2018, Ohio Excels has quickly emerged as a leading as a leading voice at the Statehouse, bringing an informed business perspective to improve and transform Ohio’s education system.
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