MOUNT VERNON — Like it or not, students in Ohio’s public schools must pass standardized tests in reading, math, writing, science and social studies in order to receive a high school diploma. Those Ohio Graduation Tests, which were developed to comply with state law and federal No Child Left Behind mandates, were given to sophomores during the first part of March. Some juniors and seniors who had not previously achieved proficient scores on one or more tests also participated in the March round of testing.
The Ohio Department of Education has released preliminary results of the OGT given in March. The results listed in the accompanying chart were obtained from the ODE Web site and show the percentage of students scoring proficient or above in each of the five subject areas tested. This information has not been verified by districts and schools.
According to the ODE, districts and schools are under a rigorous timeline to analyze and verify Ohio Graduation Test data. Districts have 30 days to review results and request score appeals and verifications; also, the test contractors have 30 days to respond to appeals. Verified and complete data are reported in the district report cards.
Lynda Weston, director of teaching and learning for Mount Vernon City Schools, said there are few changes from preliminary to official scores.
“Principals like to pour over them so they can make sure alternate assessments are correctly recorded and students who didn’t attend all year are recorded correctly,” she said. “Having a student’s test re-scored is almost impossible and we usually do not expect a change in the scoring. [The testing company] will do so mostly for errors in names or student IDs, not content.”
Sophomores who did not pass one or more portions of the test have several more opportunities to do so. Besides additional test administrations during their junior and senior years, summer test dates are an option, provided the student has completed 10 hours of summer intervention instruction in the particular subject area.
Educators caution against individuals trying to use OGT scores to make comparisons between various school districts.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate,” said Dave Southward, superintendent of the Knox County Educational Service Center. “The size of the district, its economic and social status, and diversity of population can all affect test scores. One ‘snapshot’ of a district, like the OGT, does not give a true picture of the teaching and learning that is really going on in our schools.”
Several school administrators have suggested that looking at the number of students in a particular school district who scored in the accelerated or advanced level might give a more true-to-life indication of student accomplishment within that district.
