Ohio's current system of accountability
In recent years, Ohio has focused its efforts to ensure high quality teaching largely on academic accountability – holding schools and districts responsible for improving student performance. This focus was in part a result of federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation. But with difficult economic times, fiscal accountability is becoming increasingly important.
Report cards
The heart of Ohio's accountability system is its Local Report Card. To meet NCLB requirements, Ohio created report cards for school districts and individual schools that measure and report on a number of criteria. These measures include graduation rates, student achievement test data and attendance rates.
The school or district’s performance on the combine criteria generates a rating. Ratings are in six tiers: Excellent with Distinction, Excellent, Effective, Continuous Improvement, Academic Watch and Academic Emergency.
Another component of Ohio’s academic accountability system is Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). AYP attempts to hold schools accountable for the performance of student subgroups, such as economically disadvantaged students.
The state recently added an additional component known Value-Added measures, which look at student growth or improvement over time to determine the “value” gained by a student during that time period.
Each school and district rating is made public on the annual report card. The report cards aim to make educators accountable to their communities and generally receive media attention on their release in the fall. A statewide report card shows the overall performance of Ohio’s students.
In addition to this public accountability, schools that fail to meet state and federal requirements are subject to a prescribed, progressive set of actions set forth by NCLB. These include the development of a formal school improvement plan, technical assistance from the state, the replacement of the principal and/or staff, and eventual takeover by the state.