by Ken Lahmers
Editor
Aurora -- The Aurora School District continues to lead Portage County districts in Ohio Graduation Test results for exams administered in March 2008.
For all five portions of the state test, Aurora's percentage of proficient or above was 90.4, which significantly topped Portage County's second-highest district Crestwood's 76.2.
Aurora's percentage of ad-vanced, accelerated and proficient or above students improved by 0.5 percent compared from March 2007, according to preliminary results released last week by the Ohio Department of Education.
"Our scores [of proficient or above] again were very consistent and most of them were in the mid to high 90s range," said Superintendent Russ Bennett.
"There always will be a little fluctuation from year to year, but we expect to be ranked high in overall scores each year. Our 10th-grade social studies especially showed improvement this year."
Bennett attributed the success to good preparation and a strong curriculum, and to the intervention that is offered to students who need help with their subjects.
The state had 145,147 10th-graders take the test, with 65 percent scoring proficient or above on all five tests, which is down slightly from 65.3 percent last year.
Two hundred fifty students in Aurora took the reading and science portions of the test in March, while 249 took the math, writing and social studies portions.
In Aurora, percentages of students who were proficient or above were: reading, 98.0; math, 96.0; writing, 98.8; science, 94; and social studies, 95.2.
Percentages which were advanced were: reading, 33.2; math, 60.2; writing, 5.6; science, 43.6; and social studies, 50.6.
Percentages which were basic or limited, the lowest scores which could be posted, were: reading, 2.0; math, 4.0; writing, 1.2; science, 6.0; and social studies, 4.8.
In other Portage County districts, percentages of proficient or above on all five tests were: Field, 73.4; James A. Garfield, 68.4; Kent, 76.0; Ravenna, 53.7; Rootstown, 69.9; Southeast, 56.7; Streetsboro, 65.8; Waterloo, 72.8; and Windham, 41.9.
In some other area districts, rates of proficient or above students were: Chagrin Falls, 96.9; Hudson, 90.5; Solon, 89.7; Orange, 87.4; Kenston, 86.1; and Beachwood, 82.0.
Tenth-graders took the test in March, and must pass all five parts -- reading, math, writing, science and social studies -- before they can graduate from high school.
Students who failed a part of the OGT are able to retake it at least twice a year.
E-mail: klahmers@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3155