WVXU: On average, Hamilton County school districts met state expectations last year. But there are big gaps
UC education expert explains how two neighborhoods can have very different reports
According to a WVXU analysis of an Ohio Department of Education schools report, public school districts in Hamilton County, on average, met or exceeded state performance expectations in most categories. But performance, the report says, varied greatly from district to district. Some schools received one-star ratings in many or all categories, while other, sometimes neighboring districts received straight five-star ratings.
Calculating the average isn’t cause for a sweeping round of applause, says Professor Sarah Stitzlein, a philosopher of education in UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services.
One example is that of two schools north of Cincinnati, where Wyoming City Schools and Lockland City Schools sit side by side. The two schools preformed dramatically different in the report.
“The things that are being measured on the report card often trickle down from what children are receiving at home," Stitzlein told WVXU. "So it’s not really a fair and just comparison just because schools are next door to each other to be comparing them. We need to ask who is in those schools — are they not just children who differ because of things like economics, but things like limited English proficiency; are these students who are new to learning the language and have other kinds of struggles they’re facing that other students may not be?"
Featured image at top courtesy of Unsplash.
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