“It is my belief that the true value of any district cannot be limited to a simple grade on a standardized test.”

By Dr. Amy Crouse,

Our district mission is Preparing Students for Tomorrow, Today; our No. 1 district goal is Tiger academic growth. As such, our educational instructional leaders at every level – teachers in the classroom, principals managing the buildings and administrators specializing in Teaching & Learning at the Board Office – stay focused on measures of our performance. One data point we are equipped with to gauge performance is the annual State Report Card, which the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) released to the public Thursday, September 14.

I want to be clear that – as an educator with 20-plus years of experience serving students – it is my belief that the true value of any district cannot be limited to a simple grade on a standardized test which is what the ODE State Report Card reflects. We are in the business of whole student growth, which encompasses the complete student experience, to include academic, social and emotional development. I invite you to take a look at the way we do business through our Quality Profile Report – it is a complement to the State Report Card scores and will give you a more intimate view of what it means to be a Tiger.   

Whether we agree or disagree with our state assessments, I do have a strong belief in accountability, and understand that the State Report Card is one tool of accountability that can be of value. The State Report Card grades districts and schools on six components – Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation Rate, K-3 Literacy and Prepared for Success. Districts and schools received an A-F grade on each of the six components and most of the individual measures. While this – on the surface – sounds like a simple pass/fail – the explanations behind those letter-grade measures are much more complex.

In Loveland, we can celebrate a gain in the Gap Closing measure as all of our subgroups showed gains in reading, we made strides in the K-3 Literacy measure, and 20 out of 23 tested areas showed an increase in performance. While we will highlight our successes, we will not ignore the areas the State Report Card highlights as opportunities for growth.

One area we are focused on is our Progress measure

One area we are focused on is our Progress measure, which is an indicator of student growth. Our Board of Education made clear it was of paramount importance that we deliver on the expectation that every Tiger will demonstrate personal academic growth, which is the heart of our Growth goal for this school year. As such, entrenched in our building goals is increased time and focus for teachers to collaborate on: curriculum work planning lessons aligned to the state standards and vertically aligned to increase rigor for students as they progress through the grades; assessment work using student MAP data to meet students where they are and measure their individual growth; and, instruction work to improve student engagement and opportunities for their application of their learning. We feel strongly this focus will move the needle for us on Progress.

We feel strongly this focus will move the needle for us on Progress.

As always, I thank you for supporting our educational mission; I invite you to contact me directly should you have any questions or concerns regarding our State Report Card.    

In service to our Tigers,

Dr. Amy Crouse

Dr. Crouse is Interim Superintendent of the Loveland City School District

Loveland Magazine

Published by David Miller