4 A's, 4 C's on Avon's State Report Card

Update: Avon Superintendence Michael Laub said the district now has 4,620 students. Information provided below is from the Ohio Department of Education.

Avon Local School District met all 24 indicators and scored “A’s” in the four-year and five-year graduation rates on the Ohio State Report Card , but similar to other west school districts that consistently achieve the highest ratings on state school report cards, saw grades that gave the appearance of less-than-excellent ratings.

Avon, which had 4,150 students in 2012-13, scored straight C’s in value added data for gifted student, disabled student and lower 20 percent value added categories.             

The grades have become a sticking point for some districts.

Westlake superintendent Dan Keenan said his district’s three D’s in the valued added categories, in a district that historically receives top grades from the state, was frustrating.

Keenan noted that with value-added growth measure, if students are already at a high level of achievement, there's a tighter margin for them to improve.

For instance, he said, 98.1 percent of Westlake middle-schoolers identified as gifted had scores considered accelerated or advanced on state reading tests, yet as a group they got an F from the state in value-added since they tested slightly lower than the previous year.

Laub said Keenan had a point regarding the value-added data for the

highest level learners  saying “it is hard to show more than a years worth of growth.”

He also noted that residents who don’t understand the meaning behind the grade could be misled.

“If you meet all 24 indicators, the rating is an A,” Laub said. “If you meet the progress measure, the rating is a C. This is the type of situation that will give false understanding to people who may not read the meaning behind the grade. 

"People are going to relate the letter grades to their own personal frame of reference from being in school. That is not going to be consistent or accurate.”

Avon Lake Superintendent of Schools Bob Scott said his district, which rated high on passing rates but also earned less-than-high marks on growth added modules said Avon Lake focuses on getting students ready for whatever lies beyond high school graduation, whether college, military technical school, a trade or the workforce.

"We are not happy with a D in the gifted value added area, but we will be cautious about making adjustments based on the OAAs,” Scott said.

Avon’s Letter Grades

Standards met: A

Performance index:   B

Value added:  A

Gifted student value added:   C

Disabled student value added:  C

Lower 20% value added:   C

AMO (formerly AYP):  C

4-year graduation rate:   A

5-year graduation rate:   A