State lawmakers have sent to Gov. Mike DeWine a bill that would replace the A-F grades on report cards for Ohio鈥檚 more than 600 school districts with a new rating system. , the second major overhaul for the school report cards in less than a decade.
Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) said the House bill, sponsored by Reps. Don Jones (R-Freeport) and Jon Cross (R-Kenyon), scraps the A-F grades and replaces them with a rating system of five stars.
鈥淭he five components that would be rated are achievement, progress, gap closing, early literacy and graduation rate," Brenner said.
College, career workforce and military readiness would be non-graded for three years but could become a sixth component if lawmakers adopt that.
The A-F grades had been instituted under Republican former Gov. John Kasich in 2012 because critics said designations such as 鈥渆ffective鈥� and 鈥渁cademic watch鈥� were confusing.
But the A-F system has been called misleading, arbitrary and simplistic. The move to get rid of that system , and a pushed the idea further.
Report card ratings are important not only for parents and teachers, but also for those who might seek state-paid vouchers. Students in school buildings that are considered failing are eligible for EdChoice vouchers. The proposed Senate budget , and both the House and Senate versions of the budget would have the state directly funding them, rather than money for each student be deducted from a school district when a student leaves the district.
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