Canton Local posts districtwide gains on Ohio report card while absenteeism and untested exams remain concerns

Canton Local administrators presented the district's Ohio report card results to the board, saying the district earned a 4-star overall rating this year and showed measurable growth in student progress and gap closing.

The presentation by district staff said Canton Local is one of 147 districts statewide to receive four stars and that two of the district's buildings earned four stars while one received three and a half. Administrators listed component ratings that feed the overall star score: achievement (3 stars), progress (4 stars), gap closing (5 stars), early literacy (3 stars), graduation (5 stars) and college, career, workforce and military readiness (4 stars).

"This year, I am so excited to share with you the progress that the district has made," the presenter said, introducing the district's statewide comparisons. The district reported 85.4 performance index points out of the denominator used by the state and said it was 1.8 percentage points shy of the 80% threshold used for additional benchmarking.

Officials credited stronger progress metrics with recent instructional changes and supports. The district reported that its growth estimate exceeded expected growth by more than two standard errors, a threshold administrators described as "significant evidence" of student growth compared with the prior year, when growth had been negative.

Administrators warned the achievement component left points on the table because of untested events. The presentation identified 34 untested events affecting 13 students last year: 8 were online testing events, 6 involved out-of-district placements where students attend another institution for intensive needs, 16 were assigned to students based at West Campus with persistent truancy, and 4 were internal tests for students with chronic attendance issues. Building principals were described as working to "put some teeth" in recovery efforts and to incentivize attendance so students take required state tests.

District leaders also emphasized gap-closing gains: the district reported a 65.4% gap-closing score (the state requires at least 60% to reach a 5-star rating). Administrators said Canton Local ranked at or near the top of similar districts on that measure.

Officials told the board that the district must improve instructional agility and data use. They highlighted Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Integrated Student Services coordination, earlier progress monitoring and closer collaboration between care teams and academic teams as priorities for sustaining growth.

Administrators did not present any formal actions or motions tied to the report card during this presentation.