West Geauga Local Schools earned the Excellent with Distinction rating on the State Report Card for the 2009-2010 school year from the Ohio Department of Education. This is the 10th consecutive year West Geauga has earned the highest ranking from ODE.
“This is an outstanding accomplishment and a tribute to the efforts of our students, staff, parents and the community,” said Superintendent Tom Diringer.
West Geauga is the only district in Geauga County and among an elite group of 81 school districts in the state to achieve the Excellent with Distinction designation. In order to be designated Excellent with Distinction, the district must meet Ohio’s four state accountability measures. They are: 1) state achievement indicators, 2) performance index (PI) score, 3) adequate yearly progress (AYP) and 4) value-added.
Here is an explanation of what these terms mean:
- State achievement indicators (26): Twenty-four indicators are based on the percentage of students per grade who were enrolled in the district for a “full academic year” that scored at or above the proficient level on the state achievement tests. There is also 1 indicator that is based on the graduation rate and 1 indicator that is based on the attendance rate.
- Performance index (PI) score: A weighted average of the district’s assessment results across all tested grades and all subjects based on the performance levels of untested, below basic, basic, proficient and advanced.
- Adequate yearly progress (AYP): The federal mandate that holds schools accountable for the performance of subgroups, as well as all students. The goals for schools, districts and the state are to meet or to exceed the annual objective or to make progress over the previous year.
- Value-added:Measures growth or improvement over a period of time to determine the "value" gained by a student during that time period.
While he applauds the district’s success, Dr. Diringer believes there is always room for progress.
“We will continue to focus on improving academic achievement for all students,” he said.