HB 82 Implements Report Card Changes for the 2021-22 School Year

House Bill (HB) 82 revises the state report card system for school districts, beginning with the report card issued for the 2021-2022 school year.

HB 82 was born of two pieces of legislation—one from each chamber—that would have revised Ohio’s report card system. HB 200 was a bi-partisan effort by Representative Don Jones (R-Freeport) and Representative Phillip M. Robinson Jr. (D-Solon). Among other changes, HB 200 would have created a six-level rating system ranging from “Significantly Exceeds Expectations” to “In Need of Support.” Senate Bill (SB) 145, sponsored by Senator Andrew O. Brenner (R-Powell) maintained the A through F grading system.

The sponsors of the two bills sought to reach compromise by bringing stakeholders from a variety of organizations together to reach consensus on report card reform. The work of the group resulted in a substitute version of HB 82, which originally sought to eliminate the requirement that high school students take a nationally standardized college admission assessment for graduation. A provision which allows parents to opt their students out of taking the ACT or SAT (beginning with the class of 2026) was ultimately placed in the budget bill. HB 82 can be considered a reflection of provisions from both HB 200 and SB 145 with some new provisions developed by the group.

Following is an overview of major report card changes contained in HB 82.

Rating System
HB 82 replaces the A to F letter grade system with a rating system that uses “stars” to indicate a district’s or school’s overall performance and performance for the individual components that are factored into the overall rating. The components will be rated with one to five stars. The overall rating for a school or district will also use half stars, making the rating system 1, 1 ½, 2, 2 ½, etc.

 The following descriptors align with the star rating system:

            5 Stars                         “Significantly meets state standards”

            4 or 4 ½ Stars            “Exceeds state standards”

            3 or 3 ½ Stars            “Meets state standards”

            2 or 2 ½ Stars            “Needs support to meet state standards” 

            1 or 1 ½ Stars             “Needs significant support to meet state standards”

In addition to the star ratings, the report card will include a graphic that depicts the performance ratings of a district or school on a color scale. Three stars will equal a color coding of “green.” One star will equal a color coding of “red.” The remaining associated colors will be determined by the Ohio Department of Education (ODE).

An arrow graphic will provide a visual of performance rating data trends for at least the three most recent years for each of measured components.   

Rated Components
Rated components will include Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation, and Early Literacy. “Prepared for Success” will now be titled “College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness.” This component will not be rated initially; however, ODE will analyze data for the 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24 school years and make a recommendation to the Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review (JCARR), which will determine if a rating for “College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness” will begin with the 2024-25 school year.

An overall rating for schools and districts will not begin until the 2022-23 school year. For the overall rating, Achievement and Progress will be given the same weight, and Gap Closing, Graduation, and Early Literacy must be weighted equally (along with College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness if it becomes a rated component). Achievement and Progress will account for 50% of the overall rating, while the remaining components will comprise the other 50%.

Achievement
The Achievement rating is based on the school’s or district’s overall Performance Index (PI). Also included in the calculation of the Performance Index will be end-of-course exams in science, American history, and American government. The PI will also use scores from AP or IB exams and final grades in College Credit Plus courses in science, American history, and American government to substitute for end-of-course exam results.

The current maximum PI score of 120 will be revised each year. The maximum PI score will be established each year by averaging the PI scores achieved by the top 2% of all districts and the top 2% of schools for the school year for which a report card is issued. Those averages will become the top score upon which all districts and schools are rated.

The performance indicators will be “report only.” A district’s or school’s performance indicator results will be compared with the results of similar districts and the state average for each assessment.

Progress
The Progress rating will be based on a district’s or school’s overall value added score from the most recent three years. The most recent year results will comprise 50% of the score. Years two and three will each comprise 25% of the score.

There will be no subgroups reported in the Progress component. The reporting of performance by students in the lowest quintile for achievement statewide (“lowest 20%”) as a subgroup is eliminated in the report card.

HB 82 requires ODE to explore the feasibility of the value-added progress dimension using the gain index and effect size to improve differentiation and interpretation of the measure. It authorizes the State Board of Education to update its rules regarding value-added progress dimension to implement the use of gain index and effect size, if ODE determines that it is feasible.

Gap Closing
Gap Closing indicates if certain measures are “met” or “not met” for various subgroups. This includes the gifted performance indicator, which includes the performance of gifted students on state assessments, the identification of gifted students, and the level of services provided to gifted students.

Also included as “met” or “not met” indicators are English language proficiency for English Learners and the district’s or school’s chronic absenteeism rate. Subgroup performance will be determined as “met” or “not met” for graduation targets along with achievement targets and progress targets in both math and English language arts.

A subgroup must have at least 15 students for that subgroup to be measured. The performance of a subgroup can no longer cause a “demotion” in a school’s or district’s overall rating for the progress or gap closing components.

Graduation
The Graduation component will include both the four-year and five-year adjusted cohort graduation rates. The four-year adjusted cohort rate will be weighted at 60%. The five-year adjusted cohort rate will be weighted at 40%.

There are several “report only” items in the Graduation component. Among them will be the graduation rate of students who completed all of grades 9-12 in the district in addition to the percentage of students who did not graduate but are still enrolled in the district and receiving either general education or special education services.

Early Literacy
The current “Kindergarten through Third Grade Literacy” component will be renamed as “Early Literacy.” The rating will be determined by three components:

  • The percentage of students who score proficient or higher on the reading segment of the third-grade English language arts assessment;
  • Whether a district or school is making progress in improving literacy in grades K-3, as determined using a method prescribed by ODE; and
  • The percentage of students who are promoted to the fourth grade and not subject to retention under the Third Grade Reading Guarantee.

HB 82 requires ODE, to the extent possible, to include the results of the summer administration of the third-grade English language arts assessment in the Early Literacy measure.

College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness
This component (formerly “Prepared for Success”) will be expanded to include more measures that focus on career, workforce, and military readiness in addition to the current measures which have traditionally  focused on college readiness. A sampling of additional items included in this readiness measure includes earning an industry-recognized credential, completing a pre-apprenticeship in the student’s chosen career field, providing evidence of acceptance into an apprenticeship program after high school, and earning a cumulative score of proficient or higher on three or more state technical assessments.

Also included under this measure will be providing evidence of military enlistment.

This is not an all-inclusive list, but it provides an idea of how this component is being expanded to be more inclusive of various pathways that lead to post-high school success for students.

Student Opportunity Profile
Beginning with the state report card issued for the 2022-23 school year, HB 82 prescribes a student opportunity profile measure that reports data regarding the opportunities provided to students by a district or school.

The Student Opportunity Profile will include data in twenty-two different areas. A sampling of those areas includes the average ratio of teachers, counselors, nurses, and other school personnel to students; the percentage of teachers and administrators with less than three years of experience; the percentage of eligible students participating each school day in school breakfast programs; and the ratio of portable technology devices that students may take home to the number of students.

The data for each item must be disaggregated by grade level and subgroup to the extent possible and when appropriate. Each reported component within the profile must also include data regarding the statewide average, the average for similar school districts, and, for a school, the average for the district in which the school is located.

Reporting Requirements
Within 30 days after ODE issues state report cards, each school district must notify parents that the state report card has been released and share with parents how they can access it. The district must include a link to the state report card on its website.

And finally, within 30 days after ODE issues state report cards, each district superintendent must present the report card results to the district’s board of education.