Oct. 3, 2023 -- The Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District continues to show notable progress in the recently released Ohio state report card data for the 2022-2023 school year, especially in closing educational gaps for students and early literacy gains.  

This is the second state report card that schools and districts have received since 2019, and the first report card since 2019 that includes an overall rating. The state report card includes performance information provided by schools and districts, including academic, financial, and student opportunities. Some of this data is then combined into six components that receive star ratings from 1-5.

Overall Rating
District star rating: 3 (Meeting state standards)

“Our school community should be proud of the tremendous amount of intentional work poured into accomplishing the CH-UH mission: to provide a challenging and engaging education to prepare all our students to become responsible citizens and succeed in college and career,” said CH-UH Schools Superintendent Liz Kirby. “Students, educators, staff, families, and our community members all have an important role in our District’s success.”

“While the state report card provides an overview of state testing scores and other standardized indicators, it is our 2026 Strategic Plan - and the Measures That Matter outlined within it - that serves as our blueprint,” said Kirby. “It’s noteworthy that CH-UH was just on the cusp of a 3.5 overall rating this year. I believe we are well on our way to achieving even greater success in the years to come.”

Gap Closing
This component measures the reduction in educational gaps for student groups.
District star rating: 5

In 2016, CH-UH implemented an Educational Equity Policy, the first of its kind in Cuyahoga County. Educational equity addresses the polices, practices, programs, personnel and resources required to ensure access to educational opportunity and achievement for all students. A 5-star rating indicates that the District is significantly exceeding state standards.

“Our work as educators is always done with equity at the forefront,” said Superintendent Kirby. “I am incredibly proud of our school community for its commitment to equity, and their dedication is illustrated in this rating.”

Chronic absenteeism is a piece of the Gap Closing component. The District’s chronic absenteeism percentage for the 22-23 school year was 39.5% - a nearly 7 percentage point improvement from the year prior.

In addition to the District’s 5-star rating, most CH-UH schools received a 4 or a 5 rating on the Gap Closing component.

Progress
This component looks closely at the growth all students are making based on their past performances.
District star rating: 3

Academic growth is measured by looking at the current achievement compared to prior achievement results on Ohio’s State Tests. The District’s 2022-2023 scores indicate that Heights students made expected growth on the OST, based on state measures.

Early Literacy
This component measures reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
District star rating: 3

The District’s 2026 target is 100% of 3rd graders reading at or above their identified grade level. By the end of the 2022-2023 school year, 68% of third graders were reading at or above grade level.

“For the second year in a row, third graders in CH-UH outperformed the state average in Grade 3 reading proficiency. I want to thank our teachers for their diligent work with our youngest learners to set them up for academic success beyond third grade,” said Superintendent Kirby.

Ensuring success in early literacy begins before a child comes to kindergarten. All three of the District’s preschool programs boast 5-star ratings, the highest possible, from the Ohio Department of Education.

This year, the District is implementing new ELA curriculum materials and will continue to utilize programs to provide reading intervention support for students.

Achievement  
This component represents whether student performance on state tests met established thresholds and how well students performed on tests overall.
District star rating: 2

The calculation includes performance on the following assessments: English language arts (grades 3-8), Math (grades 3-8), Science (grades 5, 8), English language arts II, Integrated Math I and II, Geometry, Algebra I, Biology, American History, American Government, and approved substitutes using performance on Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate assessments.

“As an important indicator of postsecondary success, our goal is that our students reach at least 80 percent proficiency in OSTs by 2026, and we continue to see areas of progress across the District. We will continue to work with teachers, administrators and district leaders to build on our successes,” said Superintendent Kirby.

This year, the District is piloting new math curriculum materials to coincide with the recent adoption of the new English Language Arts materials.

District star rating: 2

The District’s 4-year graduation rate goal, a key component of the District’s 2026 Strategic Plan, is 95%. The preliminary graduation rate for the class of 2023, which will be reported on next year’s state report card, is 90.3%.

While the District’s four-year and five-year rates continue to exceed the state rate, the District will continue to work hard to support all Heights students towards graduating within four years and ensuring they are ready for life after CH-UH.

“We have enhanced our support for incoming freshmen, and students have access to resources and programming such as seminar classes, tutors, AVID and GEAR UP. Additionally, we have partnered with Cuyahoga Community College to provide students with the opportunity to earn their associate’s degree by the time they graduate from CH-UH. We remain focused on students’ post-secondary outcomes and will build upon the success of the Heights High School Class of 2023, which earned a collective $14.5 million in college scholarships,” said Superintendent Kirby.

The District has a set of Measures that Matter which go beyond test scores; activities such as community service, participation in the arts, music, and sports, and an ongoing quest for learning come to mind when we imagine a Heights graduate who is ready to become a responsible, caring and successful citizen.

Districts and schools did not receive ratings in this component this year. Those ratings are expected in 2025.