Ohio’s latest school report cards show several Scioto County districts struggling to meet state expectations in key areas, particularly academic achievement, student growth and early literacy.
Among traditional public school districts, Portsmouth City Schools received the lowest overall rating in the county at 2.5 stars.
Sciotoville Community School received an even lower rating of 2 stars, though it is a community school and not a traditional school district.
The state’s rating system runs from 1 to 5 stars. A 3-star rating means a district meets state standards.
Portsmouth City: 2.5 Stars
Portsmouth City Schools earned:
- 2 stars for Achievement
- 2 stars for Progress
- 2 stars for Gap Closing
- 4 stars for Graduation
- 2 stars for Early Literacy
- 3 stars for College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness
The district’s biggest bright spot was Graduation, where Portsmouth earned 4 stars and exceeded state standards.
It also met state standards for post-high-school readiness with 3 stars.
But four of the six major components came in at only 2 stars.
The state says Portsmouth needs support in Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing and Early Literacy.
That means students are struggling not only with state test performance, but also with growth compared with their previous performance, closing educational gaps and reading performance among the youngest students.
Sciotoville Community School: 2 Stars
Sciotoville Community School earned the lowest overall rating among the local school systems included in this comparison.
Its scores were:
- 2 stars for Achievement
- 2 stars for Progress
- 1 star for Gap Closing
- 2 stars for Graduation
- 2 stars for Early Literacy
- 1 star for College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness
The state said the school needs significant support in both Gap Closing and College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness.
Sciotoville is a community school, so it is important to distinguish it from Scioto County’s traditional local and city school districts.
Three Traditional Districts Earn 3 Stars
Minford, New Boston and Washington-Nile all earned 3 stars overall, meaning they met state standards overall.
But the details show very different strengths and weaknesses.
Minford
Minford earned 3 stars in Achievement and Readiness, 4 stars in Gap Closing and Graduation, but only 2 stars in Progress and Early Literacy.
The state found significant evidence that Minford fell short of student growth expectations.
New Boston
New Boston has one of the strangest-looking report cards in the county.
It earned a perfect 5 stars in Graduation, but just 1 star in College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness.
It also earned 2 stars in Achievement and Early Literacy and 3 stars in Progress and Gap Closing.
In other words, New Boston is successfully getting students across the graduation stage, but the state says the district needs significant support when it comes to preparing those students for what comes next.
Washington-Nile
Washington-Nile earned:
- 2 stars for Achievement
- 2 stars for Progress
- 4 stars for Gap Closing
- 4 stars for Graduation
- 2 stars for Early Literacy
- 4 stars for Readiness
That is another sharply divided report card.
The district exceeded state standards in closing gaps, graduation and post-high-school readiness, while falling short in academic achievement, student growth and early literacy.
Early Literacy Is a Countywide Trouble Spot
One pattern stands out when looking at the lower-rated districts.
Early Literacy is a problem in several of them.
Portsmouth, Minford, New Boston, Washington-Nile, Clay and Northwest all earned only 2 stars in Early Literacy.
That component measures reading improvement and proficiency among students from kindergarten through third grade.
That matters because reading performance in the early grades can affect nearly every subject that comes later.
How Every Scioto County School System Rated
Among traditional districts:
4.5 Stars
Wheelersburg Local
Bloom-Vernon Local
4 Stars
Northwest Local
3.5 Stars
Clay Local
Green Local
Valley Local
3 Stars
Minford Local
New Boston Local
Washington-Nile Local
2.5 Stars
Portsmouth City
Sciotoville Community School earned 2 stars overall.
The Scioto County Career Technical Planning District uses a different report card system and is not directly comparable. It earned 4 stars for Achievement, 5 stars for Career and Post-Secondary Readiness, 5 stars for Graduation Rate and 4 stars for Post-Program Outcomes. It also met all nine federal indicators.
The report cards do not tell everything about a school.
But they do show where the state believes districts are succeeding and where students may need more help.
And in Scioto County, the biggest trouble spots are pretty clear: early literacy, academic achievement and student growth continue to pull down several local districts.
