Athens County high school sophomores will end a grueling week of testing today that will determine whether they receive a diploma and whether their districts pass on the year's state report card.
This week, sophomores from four of the five area school districts took the Ohio Graduation Test, a standard created by the Ohio General Assembly in 2001 based on recommendations from former Gov. Bob Taft, according to the Ohio Department of Education.
Districts must schedule one week between the OGT and spring break. Because Nelsonville-York schools lost their break to make up snow days, they will take the exam next week, high school principal Mick McClelland said.
The weeklong, written test enforces statewide standards in mathematics, writing, reading, science and social studies, according to the ODE. The class of 2007 will be the first to have the OGT as a graduation requirement.
The test is one of 25 components that determine each district's yearly report card, which indicates if a district has met adequate yearly progress. To meet AYP, 75 percent of a district's students must be proficient on the OGT, according to the ODE.
If a district does not meet AYP for two consecutive years, it receives a mid-level score of continuous improvement and must create plans, allocate funds and possibly cut staff to bring the district up to AYP.
Alexander Local School District was the only district in Athens County to pass every section of the 2006 OGT ' an improvement from 2005, when its students passed only two sections. The district met AYP and achieved effective status, according to the ODE.
District officials have implemented quarterly assessments for all grades above kindergarten, said Karen Boch, director of Curriculum and Instructional Services.
One disadvantage of having the test sophomore year for Alexander is that some students are unmotivated to continue high school work after passing the most obvious roadblock to their graduation, Boch said.
Athens City Schools met the 75 percent proficiency AYP requirement in all OGT sections for 2005 but only in reading and math last year. The district received a score of effective on the 2006 report card but likely would drop to continuous improvement if it does not meet AYP this year.
The total percent of Athens students proficient on the OGT decreased in every section from 2005 to 2006. Teachers plan to improve those numbers by aligning course material with state standards, providing four practice tests a year and introducing preparation classes for students who did not pass the test on the first attempt, assistant high school principal Lisa McCoy said.
Both Trimble and Federal Hocking school districts did not pass the science or social studies portions of the 2006 OGT, did not meet AYP and received state scores of continuous improvement, according to the ODE.
Trimble did improve in four of the five sections from its previous scores.
The district has a goal to improve from its report card ranking through increased tutoring and focused curriculum, and everyone from the superintendent to students play a part. A copy of the state-mandated content standards hangs in every classroom, high school principal Joe Hemsley said.
[Preparation for the OGT] is like taxes. You know they are coming and you better start saving up
Hemsley said.
Federal Hocking improved from its previous scores in every section of the 2006 OGT. The most noticeable change was a 19.7 percent increase in science, according to the ODE.
Federal Hocking officials offer a fall practice test and tutoring for students re-taking the exam, principal John Wryst said.
Nelsonville-York School District met proficiency in all but the social studies section and met AYP with a report card score of effective. Students there improved in four of five sections because of weeklong practice tests given right before the OGT, McClelland said. 17
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