Superintendent Regano: Excellent Report Card Due To 'Sharp Focus' Of District

Final release of state of Ohio Report Cards for 2011-12 confirms that Solon students are achieving at the highest levels in Northeast Ohio.

With a Performance Index Score of 111.2, the Solon Schools had the top achievement score among public school districts in Northeast Ohio and the third highest in the state. Solon also received the state’s "Excellent with Distinction" rating.

State report card data is typically released in August each year, but was delayed this year due to a statewide audit of attendance reporting in Ohio school districts. The audit findings were reported in late February and the Ohio Department of Education subsequently released the final report card data. Solon students and staff celebrated the preliminary Report Card data in the fall with academic pep rallies.

“These excellent results are evidence of the district’s sharp focus on continuous quality improvement and raising the achievement bar for all of our students,” said Solon Schools’ Superintendent Joe Regano. “The Report Card results verify that Solon students are mastering the benchmarks and indicators of our curriculum, which is tightly aligned to the rigorous Academic Content Standards in Ohio.”

The Performance Index measures achievement of students over time, Mr. Regano explained. Solon’s score continues to climb each year because of the numbers of students who are passing in the accelerated and advanced ranges on the state assessments.

“The Performance Index corroborates the effectiveness and depth of research-based, best teaching practices in Solon classrooms,” he said.

This year’s data release by the Ohio Department of Education also included a new mandated ranking of districts based on Value-Added results showing whether students met the expected one year of academic growth in grades 4 through 8 in reading and math. Solon earned the #4 spot among public school districts statewide on the Value-Added ranking.