September 14, 2023—The Shaker Heights City School District earned an overall rating of four stars on the annual
State Report Card, released today by the Ohio Department of Education. A four-star rating means the District exceeded state standards.
This is the first year districts and schools received overall ratings, which are comprised of five rated components: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Early Literacy and Graduation. Star ratings are assigned to each of the five components. A sixth component, College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness, will be rated beginning in 2025.
The District met or exceeded state standards in all five rated components.
Highlights from the Shaker Heights 2023 State Report include:
- The District received four stars in Gap Closing, meaning it continues to reduce learning gaps between and among subgroups of students. Student subgroups are identified by race, ethnic origin, English language learners, economically disadvantaged and students with disabilities.
- The District earned four stars for its Graduation Rate. The District’s 2022 “weighted” graduation rate was 94.4 percent. The weighted graduation rate combines four-year and five-year graduation rates.
- In the area of Early Literacy, the percentage of third-graders demonstrating reading proficiency continued to rise. All third-graders were promoted to fourth grade.
- The District earned four stars for the academic growth of Gifted students. The measurement, often called “value-added,” is determined by looking at current achievement compared to prior achievement.
While the report card is only one measure of academic performance, data from the state show that Shaker Heights Schools students continue a steady rebound from dips experienced nationwide immediately after the pandemic and subsequent student learning losses. The measurements in the report card are closely aligned with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), which were created to determine progress to intended outcomes articulated in the Five-Year Strategic Plan.
Although the District’s attendance rate rose slightly in 2022-2023, the report card identifies chronic absenteeism as an opportunity for improvement for Shaker Heights and many districts throughout the state. The District is addressing this challenge by including attendance data in its KPIs, and by promoting good attendance through the Cleveland Browns’ Stay in the Game! attendance initiative, which raises awareness about good attendance through communications materials, outreach to families, player visits to schools and good-attendance awards.
Additional information about the District will be shared in Measuring What Matters, our annual report to the community, in early October.