Local school districts in Knox County in some cases exceeded pre-pandemic performance measurements in the Ohio Department of Education’s annual school report cards released Oct. 14.
The report cards do not contain overall grades for any districts or buildings, individual grades or ratings as an acknowledgment of the obstacles to education the pandemic has presented and as required by state legislation.
“While we do not have as much information as we normally would, schools and districts can use the data in this year’s report cards to guide decisions about where and how to focus time, efforts and resources that will best serve their students in the midst of pandemic-related challenges,” Stephanie K. Siddens, interim state superintendent of public instruction, said in a press release.
Danville Local Schools
Danville Local Schools scored 83.1 on the performance index, exceeding pre-pandemic scores in 2017 and 2018 and just 3.8 points behind 2019. The score rose 7.7 points from 2020. The school district taught in-person for the entire school year, and all students were provided a district computer.
Danville Elementary recorded an 84.8 on the performance index, with the high school at 81.1. Both schools’ performances are trending upward, with the high school’s 81.1 score greatly exceeding 2917 and 2018, and even higher than the final pre-pandemic year of 2019. But testing data was limited for the 2019-20 school year, so the state advises not to make comparisons.
For Danville High School, which enrolls students in grades 7-12, significant evidence of more progress than expected was shown in seventh and eighth grade math, seventh-grade English language arts (ELA), eighth-grade science, and English II and geometry in upper grades. Eighth-grade ELA students made the progress expected statewide, but algebra students scored less than what was expected.
Danville Elementary students showed more progress than expected for ELA in fourth through sixth grades, and in math for fifth and sixth grades.
Fredericktown Local Schools
Fredericktown Local Schools had the highest overall performance index score at 88. The school district significantly increased its score from 2020, though it remains below pre-pandemic year scores that rose above 93 points. Students were in class in person for the last school year, and all had district-provided computers.
Fredericktown Elementary’s 91.9 performance index score showed students are reversing the downward trend that happened during the pandemic year, but it remains well below the scores that exceeded 100 during the three years before the pandemic. Data available showed more progress than anticipated in fourth- and fifth-grade ELA and in fifth-grade math.
Fredericktown Middle School scored 85.8 on the performance index, between 6.1 and 8.1 points lower than in pre-pandemic years. Not enough data was available for 2020, however. More progress was made than expected in ELA by sixth- and eighth-grade students, and sixth-grade math students. But seventh-grade students showed less progress than expected based on the limited data available.
Fredericktown High School scored 86.5 on its performance index, a higher score than in 2017 and just a few points lower than 2018. It fell a bit short of the 2019 score. Significant evidence was shown for more progress than expected in English II, algebra and geometry.
