For the second year, districts were graded on a 1 to 5 stars – including half-star increments – instead of the traditional letter grades used prior to the 2022-23 school year.

Longtime top academic performer Ross Schools has continued its streak of recent years by earning the top overall rating of 5 stars in Butler County for the 2023-24 school year while also posting the highest, four-year graduation rate of 98.3%, up from its previous mark of 97.7%.

Mason Schools, which is the largest district in Warren County and shares a border with Butler County, also came in with a second consecutive 5-star rating and was again joined by nearby Wayne and Springboro schools with top overall scores.

Local low performers from last school year again include Middletown Schools, which earned an overall rating of 2.5 stars but saw that increase from the previous school year’s 2-star rating.

New Miami Schools, which has the smallest enrollment of any district in southwest Ohio with about 600 students, also saw improvement on its previous score 2.5 stars rising to 3 stars.

The 9,000-student Hamilton Schools saw its 3.5-star rating remain the same while its 4-year graduation rate, rose from the previous 82% to 88.8%.

Fairfield’s 10,000-student district earned a higher overall star rating last school year, going from 3.5 stars in 2022-2023 to 4 stars in 2023-24, along with posting a higher graduation rate – from 92.3% to 95.2%.

Butler County’s largest school system – more than 17,000 students - saw an increase in overall star rating from 3.5 stars to 4.5 for students in Lakota Schools.

The district also earned a higher graduation rate, moving from 94.6% to 95.3%.

Reaction from schools

But the 2,362-student Ross Schools again shined the brightest among the county’s 10 districts and Superintendent Bill Rice said district’s long record of high performance mirrors its Ross Twp. community.

“This rating reflects the outstanding commitment of our students and families, and the resiliency and dedication of our staff members. We are fortunate to have a community that values education and works together to create an environment where students can thrive,” Rice told the Journal-News.

Hamilton school officials echoed what some other district officials noted on how the annual state ratings are limited in their scope and in many ways provide only a snapshot of any district’s performance.

Hamilton is among the area districts that produce their own report cards, which often include more academic and other measurements available to the public on their district websites.

“The state report card provides only a limited view of our staff’s incredible work with students,” said Mike Holbrook, superintendent of Hamilton Schools.

“Hamilton will continue to emphasize the annual growth of students included in the ‘Progress’ component of the report card and align services that support and assist this growth. We encourage individuals to visit the district website to access the district’s ‘Quality Profile,’ which provides a more comprehensive view of the district’s opportunities for all students.”

Wayne school officials said “we are thrilled with our continued success and I am proud of the efforts of our students, staff and community.”

“Wayne Local Schools remains committed to fostering academic growth and ensuring our students are well-prepared for their future endeavors. These results reflect the unwavering commitment of everyone involved- from our dedicated teachers and support staff to our hard-working students and the families who champion education at home.”

Middletown Schools Superintendent Deborah Houser said the latest state report, which included an increase from 2 stars to 2.5 stars in overall rating, showed “we’ve improved our Early Literacy scores, reflecting the hard work and commitment of our teachers, students, and families.”

Middletown also had one of the lowest graduation rates in the county at 88.5%, which was down from 86.8% for the 2022-2023 school year.

“Literacy is the foundation of all learning, and this improvement demonstrates that our focused efforts in early reading instruction are making a positive impact,” said Houser.

“We are also proud of the improvements made in our Progress scores. And when taking a closer look at the data for individual schools, you’ll find many of our buildings have four or five stars in this category. This shows our students are advancing in their learning journey helping to move the needle in the right direction.”

“While we celebrate this progress, we are fully aware there is still more work to be done. Our dedication to continuous improvement is unwavering, and we will continue to provide our students with the tools and support they need to thrive academically,” she said.

State ratings

According to ODE officials’ statement Friday, nearly 90% of districts across Ohio earned overall ratings of three stars or higher, meaning they met state expectations for performance.

Districts and schools also receive star ratings in the categories of Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Early Literacy, and Graduation. Additionally, report cards include student-level proficiency rates based on the results of Ohio’s State Tests in English language arts, math, science, and social studies, said officials.

Notably this year, English language arts proficiency showed significant improvement among elementary students, climbing in third grade (2.2%), fourth grade (5.2%), and fifth grade (3.1%).

“Our teachers continue to make great strides in building reading skills for students, and we believe we have the opportunity to continue improving in this area once all schools in Ohio become fully aligned with the Science of Reading,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.

“We know the science of reading works because we know now exactly how the brain learns to read. This is especially important for our young children, because the earlier they are able to master reading, the better positioned they will be for success in every subject throughout their education.”

State officials also said overall graduation rates are the highest they have been in more than a decade, with 87.9% of the 2023 student cohort graduating within four years and 89.1% of the 2022 student cohort graduating within five years.

And the report cards also show an improvement in student attendance, with chronic absenteeism rates declining from the previous year, from 26.8% to 25.6%.

Jump in scores

Fairfield Schools’ Mandy Aug, director of curriculum and instruction, touted the district’s jump in its overall rating.

“We are incredibly proud of our district’s performance on the latest state report card. Our 4-star overall rating demonstrates that we are exceeding state standards,” said Aug.

“And the district continues to meet expectations in achievement and early literacy, while significantly exceeding state standards in gap closing—indicating that Fairfield students are progressing at a higher rate than expected. Furthermore, we have advanced to “exceeds state standards’ in both the graduation and progress components this year.”

Edgewood Schools, which improved its graduation rate from 92.2% to 93.4%, stayed on a 3-star rating for the second year but Superintendent Kelly Spivey said the district “is celebrating some small successes.”

The district reduced its chronic absenteeism rate and reduced the number of student suspensions, said Spivey.

“The Early Childhood Center moved from a 1 to 4 stars and the Primary and Intermediate Buildings made significant gains in gap closing and although the standard wasn’t achieved, the biggest gains were in 4th grade math and US History,” she said, but added “we still have work to do.”

“We strongly feel that a little more focus on effective instruction and student intervention support with the above strategies will move us toward a 4-5 star rating. This is our goal.”

Lakota Schools Superintendent Ashley Whitely, who joined the district in June, said she was “encouraged” by the district’s areas of improvement.

“Although the state report card is just one metric on which our district is measured, we take the results very seriously and are continuously reviewing data to improve the experience and outcomes for students,” said Whitely.

“At Lakota Local Schools, we are always striving for excellence and are encouraged to see the positive changes and trends in our report card data.”

Talawanda Schools posted a number of gains compared to the previous school year along with its highest graduation rate in the district’s history, said officials.

And more importantly, said Talawanda’s director of teaching and learning Lindsey Gregg, the Oxford-area school system saw no declines in any measurements.

“We did not go down in any of the components. Our graduation rate (98.1%) is 2nd in the county just behind Ross (98.3%) and is the highest it has ever been at Talawanda,” said Gregg.

“Teachers, administrators, support staff, students, and the Talawanda community have a lot to be proud of when looking at the hard work done daily in our buildings and classrooms. We will continue to look at areas to improve while also celebrating the success of our accomplishments.”

Monroe Schools held mostly steady with some progress and a promised re-focus on early literacy, said District Spokesman Adam Marcum.

“Monroe has achieved significant improvements, particularly in reducing chronic absenteeism, which has decreased from 21.4% in 2022-2023 to 19.1% in 2023-2024,” said Marcum.

“This progress underscores our effective strategies in engaging families and promoting regular school attendance. Our schools are actively communicating with parents and providing resources to support consistent student attendance.”

“However, we recognize that early literacy remains an area requiring further attention. To address this, we are leveraging data to tailor our instructional approaches and meet the diverse needs of our students more effectively. By enhancing our early literacy programs and using targeted interventions, we aim to improve academic achievement and boost our performance in this critical area.”

Statewide, Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (DEW) Director Stephen Dackin said there are some common areas of deficiency among districts.

“Ohio’s school leaders, educators, staff, and families are dedicated to helping all students, and we’re seeing the results of their efforts with the progress made in early literacy, reduction in chronic absence, increased graduation rates, and the near doubling of students earning industry-recognized credentials.”

Dackin added “we have work to do in math and middle and high school literacy. This work is urgent because there are significant numbers of students who need additional learning supports.”