Why Ohio officials won't correct state report cards after districts report errors
Every year, Ohio students take standardized tests that are analyzed by districts and the state alike to assess student progress. Accuracy is key in order to plan for schools' futures and meet student needs.
Now, some school districts say the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce is refusing to correct several data errors on recent school report cards. Because education data relies on previous reporting to show progress, districts say these mistakes will have lasting impact.
2023 state report cards: Cincinnati Public Schools does not meet state standards
More: How did your district do on Ohio state report cards? Here's how to read the results
Springboro Community City School District, for example, overlooked more than 800 students in kindergarten through second grade who were all on track to meet state standards in early literacy last spring. Administrators said they noticed the error when the 2022-23 report cards were released in September and have been back and forth with state officials ever since to correct the data. This miscount is reflected in the district's report card, which incorrectly shows fewer than 60% of Springboro kindergartners were on track last year.
In reality, more than 91% of the district's kindergartners were on track in early literacy, Springboro Superintendent Carrie Hester said.
"Our report card data will now continue to be affected over the next 2-3 years," Hester wrote in an April letter to parents and families.
State testing and subsequent school report cards have been controversial for years. Some school leaders say the state's evaluation system unfairly punishes urban and minority students and districts. At the very least, many superintendents in the region agree that state data isn't useful by the time it's made available to districts, The Enquirer found in a 2022 survey. Schools have their own tests that show in real time how students are progressing so they can meet kids' needs.
Still, state report cards are the best way to compare district to district data. Which is why Springboro's miscount hurts, Hester said.
If the district's early literacy data had been reported accurately, Springboro would have earned five out of five stars in this category, instead of three stars − making them one of only nine school districts in the state to receive five stars in every category.
Instead, Springboro's inaccurate results remain on its online report card with a watermark that reads: "Misreported data have impacted this district's Overall Rating and Early Literacy Component. Please contact the district for more information."
Districts self-report data, but some districts saw no flagging for errors
Districts self-report data to the state, said Lacey Snoke, spokesperson for the state department.
The state has a formal data collection, data appeals, data review, certification and watermark process for the sake of consistency and fairness across school districts.
"It is each district's responsibility to submit its data accurately and review the data during the review and appeals windows," Snoke said. Appeals are typically over the summer, when school staffing is sparse.
But the state's software isn't foolproof, said Scott Marshall, Springboro communications coordinator. And the part of the state's initial review process that should alert districts to general data errors or omissions was turned off last year, which is why Marshall said Springboro missed the appeal window.
"Why would the ODE software allow us to submit this data in the first place?" Marshall said. "If you've ever incorrectly typed your password or credit card number when purchasing something online, you'll get a message notifying you of an error. Our district never received such a message at any point through the data verification process."
Mount Healthy City Schools accidentally didn't submit a section of its early literacy numbers for the 2021-22 school year, which skewed its data. Jana Wolfe, the district's assistant superintendent for curriculum and technology, admits that was a district mistake and not on the state. But she said it was still "devastating" when the district recognized the error and missed the deadline to fix it.
"We actually are doing a lot with literacy," Wolfe said. "We're one of the few districts that has been doing the science of reading for seven years. We started it before Gov. (Mike) DeWine started his push to go statewide."
Like Springboro, Wolfe said Mount Healthy Schools never received a general data error alert from the state in 2022 and that's why the district missed the appeal window. Wolfe said the data should be stable for the district's next report card.
Administrators at Indian Hill, too, tried to rectify incorrect data on the district's 2023 report card to no avail. The state denied several of the district's requests to resubmit accurate data.
"Ultimately, inaccurate data results in defective decision making and erroneous future planning," Indian Hill Superintendent Kirk Koennecke said.
Other districts with state data errors
There are 14 Ohio school districts that applied to add watermarks to their 2022-23 report cards indicating data errors, according to the state:
Beaver Local Schools.
Bennett Venture Academy.
Bowling Green City School District.
Indian Hill Exempted Village School District,
Marysville Exempted Village School District.
Northeastern Local Schools.
Ohio Connections Academy, Inc.
Osnaburg Local Schools.
Perkins Local Schools.
Rossford Exempted Village Schools.
Southwest Licking Local.
Springboro Community City Schools.
Stow-Munroe Falls City School District.
United Preparatory Academy East.
Springboro is also aware of seven districts that applied for watermarks last school year:
Lake Local Schools.
Mansfield City Schools.
Mount Healthy City Schools.
Northeastern Local Schools.
Plymouth-Shiloh Local Schools.
Sebring Local Schools.
Washington Local Schools.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio education department won't fix report card errors, districts say
