LORAIN COUNTY, Ohio — Ohio's latest state report cards are out and Lorain County schools’ rankings range from nearly perfect scores to metrics calling for significant support to meet state standards.
The state report card system measures district performance across several categories, including academic achievement, graduation rate, progress, early literacy, gap closing and post-school readiness.
Three districts, Lorain City Schools, Elyria City Schools and Clearview Local Schools, ranked near the bottom with 2.5 star ratings.
Lorain superintendent Dr. Jeff Graham said the district is still celebrating its progress, including its highest ranking since 2011.
"If you look at our data, if we were a stock, you would buy it because we're heading in the right direction in everything. We are not there yet," Graham said.
He said attendance remains a major challenge. Achievement and early literacy metrics are also lagging behind state standards. However, the district is making strides in gap closing and career readiness.
This week, district leaders released their own "Quality Report" highlighting student success.
"There's more to our story and we want to share it," Graham said.
Beyond Lorain, Elyria and Clearview districts, all other Lorain County school district met or exceeded state standards.
Wellington received a 3-star rating.
Vermilion and Sheffield-Sheffield Lake both earned 3.5 stars.
5 districts, including Amherst, Firelands, Keystone, Midview and Oberlin achieved 4 stars.
Avon Lake, Columbia and North Ridgeville all received 4.5 stars.
Avon and Lorain County JVS earned 5 stars.
Graham said the gaps seen across Lorain County often correlate with district socioeconomics.
"If you want to know exactly how a school's going to rate on the report card, look at their average family income," Graham said.
At the other end of the spectrum, Lorain County JVS just earned its second consecutive 5-star rating. The state grades career and technical schools under slightly different criteria, but JVS exceeded state standards across the board.
Principal Megan Champagne credited practical job training for in-demand fields as part of what drives the school's performance.
"Our kids are great, our programs are great. So I think we're moving in the right direction. And that 5-star rating definitely reflects that," Champagne said.
Both Champagne and Graham acknowledged the report cards don't tell the full story of a school's success.
"Really across the state, we are so much more than is reflected on that report card," Champagne said.
"It's more than just those few stars that they look at. There's a lot more to a school district than what's happening," Graham said.
The state says the report cards are a tool that can drive local conversation, but also acknowledges they are not a complete picture of school success.
Catherine Ross is the Lorain County reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on X @CatherineRossTV, on Facebook CatherineRossTV or email her at Catherine.Ross@wews.com.
