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Superintendent David Harmon spent the better part of an hour breaking down the preliminary state testing results for the Benjamin Logan Board of Education during its regular meeting Monday.
According to the superintendent, the district in some areas of study beat the state average significantly, while in some newer areas, the district failed to meet state indicators.
While admitting that there is always room for improvement, Mr. Harmon reiterated the fact that the last set of tests, administered in 2015, was the third new set in as many years and “(the results) are not a reflection of not doing something right,” but rather a starting point moving forward. Also, final numbers could change because of “rescoring, late scoring and other changes,” as related by the Ohio Department of Education.
In years past, the district has fared well, often posting higher scores than their area counterparts and comparably sized school districts throughout the state. But with new testing parameters, many schools will see lower scores that do not necessarily reflect the effectiveness of instruction.
“It’s like comparing apples to oranges and pretending there’s not a difference,” Mr. Harmon said. “We may have been very good at the old game, but this is a new game.”
Final numbers from the state will be announced later this month, but the district is already looking past the results. Although “(the state) is all over the place as to what’s required,” he said the district will “respond and grow.
“No doubt there is need for improvement,” he continued. “I can tell you we will get better results next year.”
Read complete BOE NEWS in Tuesday’s Examiner.
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