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Report card shows high marks for Bellbrook

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BELLBROOK — According to the business manager at Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools, this year’s state report card showed students in the district achieving at high levels.

“We’re very pleased with many aspects of the report card,” Dr. Jeff Lewis said. “The scores at large were very good.”

Released by the Ohio Department of Education Sept. 14, the state report cards were graded again this year in six areas.

The first category, achievement, measures students’ success on state tests. Bellbrook-Sugarcreek School District received a B in achievement, broken down into an 85.5 percent in performance index and 83.3 percent in indicators met. Performance index measures the achievement of all students on state tests while indicators met just represents the students who passed. Within indicators met, all grades in all subjects measured higher than the state average. The district also received a B in achievement last year.

“We saw notable growth in a number of our areas,” Lewis said.

Bellbrook saw the most improvement in gap closing, which shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for the “most vulnerable populations of students” in English language arts, math and graduation. They improved from a D (64.8 percent) to a B (86.2 percent). In the annual measurable objectives, which compares different groups of students’ performance to state goals, all students achieved higher than the state goal for graduation rate.

K-3 literacy improvement also saw a better score this year. This area measures whether students are learning to read in kindergarten through third grade, and how successful the school is at getting struggling readers on track to proficiency in third grade and beyond. Last year the school earned a D (35.2 percent) while this year receiving a C (48.2 percent). That means 48.2 percent of students moved to on track to proficiency.

The district received an overall B in progress, which measures growth of all students based on past performances. Broken down, grades earned were an A overall, A for gifted students, A for students performing in the lowest 20 percent and C for students with disabilities. This is the only area in which the school received a lesser grade than the year prior, although students in the lowest 20 percent moved from a B grade to an A.

The progress component includes value-added data, which shows how students did in comparison to “the norm” — whether they made more or less progress compared to statewide expectation.

“We outperformed,” Lewis said about this area. “It’s a testament to our teachers and certainly to our students and parents.”

Lewis said this year the testing gives bonus points where students do better than they are expected to do, which is weighed in the composite.

“Our students did very well there,” he said.

The last two graded areas stayed relatively the same compared to 2015-2016.

Graduation rate represents the percentage of students who graduated within four or five years. The schools received an A in this category, showing 97.7 percent graduating in 4 years and 99.5 percent in five. Data shows that students performed higher than similar districts and the state average.

The district again received a B this year in prepared for success, which looks at how well prepared students are for the future, whether entering the technical field, work, or college. This tallies the number of students who received an honors diploma, an industry-recognized credential, placed well on AP exams and earned college credit, among other factors.

But the manager echoed other superintendents across the county.

“We received most of the indicators that just tell a part of the story,” he said. “I have a stoic view of these tests — the fact that they change, that they become bigger than they should be.”

Lewis said the schools’ curriculum director works with the principal to look at what each score means and to set the future course through instructional strategies.

To view the report card in full, visit www.reportcard.education.ohio.gov.

By Anna Bolton

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Contact Anna Bolton at 937-502-4498.