The Learning Curve

Friday, July 24, 2009

Galion High School Receives Excellent Rating on State Report Card

Galion High School has received the distinction of an Excellent Rating on the State Report Card. This is an accomplishment we should all celebrate! It certainly demonstrates the outstanding efforts of both our students and our staff.

This rating is based on student performance on the Ohio Graduation Tests, graduation rate, and student attendance. The Report Card also takes into account the Annual Yearly Progress of students. AYP measures the level of growth over time. The goal is for every student to gain a year’s worth of growth in a year’s worth of time.

The Ohio Graduation Tests provide a snapshot of the skills and knowledge our students have mastered. The test measures mastery of the Ohio Content Standards in Reading, Math, Writing, Science and Social Studies. The chart below shows the achievement levels on this year’s Ohio Graduation Tests as compared to the previous year. Overall, students made significant gains. Even more exciting, 68% of our students in Grade 10 scored proficient or better in all five OGT subjects.

Grade 10

Reading — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 84.1; in 2008 — 78.6; state indicator met

Writing — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 91.3; in 2008 — 85.1; state indicator met

Math — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 81.7; in 2008 — 79.4; state indicator met

Science — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 80.2; in 2008 — 69.7; state indicator not met

Social Studies — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 84.1; in 2008 — 68.2; state indicator met

Grade 11

Reading — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 —91.2; in 2008 94.4; state indicator met

Writing — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 —91.2; in 2008 94.4; state indicator met

Math — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 88.6; in 2008 — 92.8; state indicator met

Science — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 79.9; in 2008 — 89.6; state indicator met

Social Studies — Percent Proficient or above, 2009 — 87.2; in 2008 — 90.4; state indicator met

Graduation Rate in 2009 — 86.5 percent; in 2008 — 87.2; state indicator not met

Attendance in 2009 — 95.1 percent; in 2008 — 95.5; state indicator met

Annual Yearly Progress Goals — state indicator met

The results also provide valuable insight into areas in which students need more support and intervention. For example, for any students who did not pass one or more of the tests, we look closely at the students’ results and identify Content Standards the students have not mastered. The test results shown for Grade 11 reflect only the students who have retaken the test as eleventh graders. They would be students who did not pass one or more sections of the OGT in 2008 and have retaken the test as eleventh graders. The Ohio Graduation Tests are a key part of Ohio’s education reform to establish an aligned system of standards, assessments and accountability for Ohio schools. The purposes of the OGT are to ensure that students who receive a high school diploma demonstrate at least high school levels of achievement and meet federal requirements for high school testing.