Independence Schools elevated its ranking from an “Excellent” to “Excellent with Distinction” rating on the 2008-09 Ohio Department of Education Report Card.  The school district is in the highest category ranking possible among all Ohio schools.

The state rates districts and schools based on several indicators: Achievement Test Scores, Graduation Rate, Attendance Rate, Performance Index, Adequate Yearly Progress and Value-Added.  To meet a standard, a district must have a passage rate of at least 75 percent on tests in grades 3-10, a passage rate of at least 85 percent on tests in grade 11, an attendance rate of at least 90 percent and a graduation rate of at least 90 percent.

“Our Excellent with Distinction rating can be attributed to our hard-working students and outstanding teachers who work hard each day to provide the highest quality education to the children of Independence,” said Superintendent Mr. David Laurenzi.  “We thank the community for its support in allowing our district to provide the tools needed to offer this level of learning.”

A closer look at the scores shows that students not only scored consistently higher than the state average, but did extremely well when compared to other similar districts.

According to the Ohio Department of Education, the Independence Locals School District met 29 of the 30 indicators on the report card this year and received a Performance Index score of 105.6.

The district missed the perfect mark by only a few percentage points in eighth grade social studies.  The district also met Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for its various subgroups of tested students, including economically disadvantaged students, minority students, and students with disabilities.  The district met the AYP projected targets by demonstrating continued academic progress for all student subgroups.

In addition to AYP, another new calculation on the report card is the Value-Added Measure that reflects how much progress students have made since the previous year.  This measurement further raised Independence’s rating to Excellent with Distinction.

Congratulations to the students, teachers, staff, administrators and parents for working so hard to make this “Excellent with Distinction” possible.  This is a wonderful way to start a new school year.  The Community of Independence can take pride in knowing that the Independence Local Schools is a great place to be educated!

(You can view the ODE web site data on our district; or download our 2008-09 Local Report Card.)