Ashland City Schools report mixed statewide test results; district highlights targeted reading, math interventions

Superintendent Paramore reported Wednesday that Ashland City Schools saw modest year-to-year changes on state assessments and said the district is expanding targeted interventions to address persistent gaps.

Paramore said third-grade math scores returned the district to a small gain — up 1.2 percentage points — while third-grade ELA dropped about 1.5 points. Fourth-grade ELA fell about 5.1 points, while fourth-grade math remained high, and fifth-grade ELA, math and science were down “year to year,” he said. The largest single change Paramore highlighted was an 8th‑grade ELA gain of 23.1 percentage points; eighth‑grade science rose about 14.5 points.

Those changes reflect work district leaders said they have been emphasizing across buildings: new reading-intervention classes, English applications and literacy-connections courses, and algebra intervention sections. “We’ve created a reading intervention class, English applications and literacy connections courses, and an algebra intervention class,” Paramore said, adding that staff are using the MTSS multi-tier intervention framework to assign and monitor supports.

Paramore credited building-level teams and specific staff by name for the gains at the middle-school level. He said Ashland Middle School held a daily 30‑minute “ACT time” for targeted interventions and that staff meet regularly to refine curriculum maps and interventions.

The superintendent also drew the board’s attention to Ashland High School’s ranking on U.S. News & World Report: he said AHS was listed 180th out of 705 ranked public high schools in Ohio and 4,902nd nationally. At the high school level, Paramore noted modest gains in U.S. history and biology and described geometry as a traditionally difficult test for students; he cited the state average in geometry to provide context.

Paramore said the district is expanding “science of reading” training for staff, and noted that Ashland Middle School staff and several teachers were included in a state video about the reading work. He singled out teachers who were interviewed or named in the presentation and credited them with helping shape instruction.

On student support and safety, Paramore said the district has secured an additional school resource officer from the Ashland Police Department to start the 2025–26 school year and said the district will participate in the interview process for that new officer.

Paramore closed by asking the board and community to note that the district is preparing for a reconfiguration of primary grades and that new student handbooks will be ready before school starts in August.

Ending: The superintendent’s packet included a multi-page synopsis of assessment results and intervention plans; board members praised the classroom and intervention work and asked for continued attention to the newly reconfigured grade alignments and associated supports.