The Shaker Heights City School District continued to show steady improvement in student achievement as measured by the annual
State Report Cards, released today by the Ohio Department of Education.
State data show that Shaker students have improved in 18 of 21 state-required academic measurements over the past three years. For the second consecutive year, the District earned an “A” in the report card component that examines the percentage of students who graduate from high school in four or five years.
While the report card is only one measure of academic performance, data from the state show that the District continues to make gains in closing the achievement gap between how groups of Shaker students perform compared to state benchmarks.
“Much of the state data align with the progress we are seeing in our own District metrics,” said Dr. Marla Robinson, Chief Academic Officer. “Our metrics identify our areas of strength, and they show us where we have opportunities to improve.”
“While no single measurement can demonstrate the great work that is going on in our schools, we embrace accountability and have specific plans in place to address the areas in which we need to improve,” Dr. Robinson added.
HIGHLIGHTS ABOUT SHAKER’S 2019 STATE REPORT CARD
- State data confirms that the District continues to head in the right direction, improving in 18 of 21 state-required measurements over the past three years.
- For the second straight year, six of our eight schools received an “A” or “B” for closing the achievement gap between how groups of Shaker students performed compared against state benchmarks. Also for a second straight year, Shaker earned an overall grade of B in this category.
- Shaker’s graduation rate of 95.4 percent was an all-time record for the District and helped Shaker earn an “A” for this component of the report card.
- Shaker improved in the “Prepared for Success” component of the report card. This metric measures how many of our students earn an honors diploma, through access to courses such as IB and AP, as well as how many students participate in career and technical education pathways and who earn industry credentials over a two-year period.
- 100 percent of our third-graders reached the state literacy benchmark, and more than 46 percent of our students in grades one through three moved from off-track to on-track to reach the state’s literacy benchmark.
- Mercer Elementary School improved its building grade from a “D” to a “B” and will move out of the state EdChoice program.
- The District experienced significant gains in third-grade reading and fourth-grade math.
- Based on three years of composite data, the District’s grade for the academic progress of students identified as gifted went from a “B” to an “A,” meaning that our most academically advanced students are making more than a year’s progress in a one-year period.
- The District made significant gains in eighth-grade algebra, an important indicator of future academic success. More students enrolled in the course, there was greater diversity in those enrolled and their overall performance improved.
The District is pleased with the gains made and remains committed to aggressively addressing areas in need of improvement.
This week, Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent of Schools, announced that the District would focus extensive attention and resources on two “
Priority Areas of Focus.” The two areas are“Black Student Excellence” and “School Culture and Climate.”
“We will address our challenges head-on with very deliberate strategies to meet our students needs,” Glasner said.
As an International Baccalaureate district, Shaker Heights Schools continues to provide a holistic learning experience for our students. That’s why we produce Measuring What Matters, our annual report to the community. Measuring What Matters will be available digitally in early October at
www.shaker.org. A printed copy will be mailed to households shortly thereafter.