Cuyahoga Falls board reviews state report card; district rating inches up as attendance improves

Miss Heitzman, the district presenter, told the Cuyahoga Falls City School District Board of Education on Sept. 25 that the district’s overall state report-card rating rose “by half a star to a 3.” She said the district improved in four of six measured areas and emphasized growth measures even where achievement thresholds remain below target.

The presenter highlighted graduation progress, noting the district’s graduation rating improved; the superintendent later referenced a graduation rate of 92.8 percent. Officials flagged absenteeism as a continuing area of focus: the presenter reported an absentee rate of 26.8 percent, down from about 30 percent the prior period, and described targeted efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism, including attendance liaisons, ParentSquare messaging, the Panorama data system, and secondary-tier supports.

The presentation provided detailed data points. The district’s two-year value-added index improved from a negative 10.92 to a negative 7.72 this year, a change the presenter said contributed to a rise in the district’s value-added star rating from one to two stars. Miss Heitzman explained value-added is a three-year trend used to measure student growth: “Our current year is a negative 7.72,” she said, and added that the district saw more green (positive growth) in the latest charts than the prior year.

Board members pressed on subject-area differences. Presenters and administrators pointed to gains in seventh-grade math and algebra 1 but also noted declines in geometry and across several elementary math measures. The district identified several possible causes — pilot implementations of multiple math programs, staff mobility, and curriculum transitions — and said it will continue targeted professional learning and an expansion of acceleration pathways.

Officials described curriculum and assessment changes intended to improve identifications and outcomes. The district is moving gifted identification from MAP testing to Iowa and CogAT, which staff said are “more reliable” measures; the elementary success criteria, fidelity to foundational literacy programs, and rollout of a common readiness assessment for grades 3 and up were cited as further efforts to sharpen instruction.

On early literacy, the presenter said that some grade cohorts are entering the year stronger on diagnostic measures and stressed that the early-literacy metric uses a three-year trend and thus reflects multi-year performance. Staff also previewed a new early-warning dashboard that will combine attendance and academic data to flag students at risk and to inform interventions.

The board did not take a formal policy vote during the presentation. The superintendent and staff said they would follow up with additional data requested by board members, including clarification on how the half-star adjustments are calculated and building-level differences as the district consolidates middle schools.