OGT News by IQ-ity

Elyria rates at continuous improvement

2007-08-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

Elyria's status on the state school report card is now listed as continuous improvement, down from effective. Overall, the rating dropped from 91.2 to 89.9, only one tenth of a point from effective. The district did meet the requirement in 11th grade science for the first time. Elyria's director of academics services for secondary education noticed that students were more on edge during the Ohio Graduation Test. To read more, click here.
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Toledo to "academic watch" status

2007-08-14T19:04:00.000-07:00

Of the 30 academic indicators used by the state, 28 are determined by results on standardized tests. Toledo Public Schools only met five standards. Four of those were on the Ohio Graduation Test: tenth and eleventh grade reading and writing. Overall, the district dropped from continuous improvement to academic watch. To read more, click here.
Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Cincinnati Public Schools meet seven state indicators on Ohio Graduation Test

2007-08-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

"Continuous improvement" is the rating achieved by Cincinnati Public Schools. It met 8 of the 30 state Report Card indicators. Of the 8 indicators met, 7 measure performance on the Ohio Graduation Test. To read more, click here.
Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Ohio Graduation Test among Ohio school improvement

2007-08-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

According to the State's annual report card, Ohio schools are showing improvement. The Performance Index improved from 92.9 percent to 93.5 percent. Part of this index is the performance on standardized tests, such as the Ohio Graduation Test. To read more, click here.
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Ohio Graduation Test among talking points in Columbus

2007-08-13T08:46:00.001-07:00

Columbus Public Schools Superintendent Gene Harris talked about improvement in standardized tests. CPS improved on the adequate yearly progress scale, but Harris admits that improvement is still needed. Among 30 standards on the academic report, only five were met. Two of those were 10th grade reading and writing on the Ohio Graduation Test. To read more, click here.
Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

How much should I use IQity's Learning Management Suite?

2007-07-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

As a trainer and development specialist for IQity, I get a lot of questions about how and when to use a Learning Management Suite (LMS). How much is enough? How much is too much? The IQity LMS is intended to blend the brick-and-mortar tradition with those of the E-learning frontier. Being innovative in E-learning means predicting questions like these and creating fluid answers for every conceivable school at either extreme (and those in between, naturally).

IQity can be used as heavily or as sparingly as a school requires. Some schools we work with need only partial blending. The most classic example is when teaching at-risk or AP students in a brick-and-mortar setting. Sometimes, this involves providing a blended environment intended to motivate students. At times, the mere idea of content being online inherently intrigues learners. In at-risk scenarios, IQity can provide additional sources of accountability. Sometimes, IQity simply allows a school to provide an education to students physically unable to attend classes in a brick and mortar school.

Special Needs Students

Imagine it's seven years ago. A student suffers from a debilitating illness. Suddenly, the student is faced with three choices:

a. graduate late after recovering
b. drop out of school entirely, "just for now"
c. find another means of graduating outside of the traditional high school

None of these options are exciting for anyone. The student's future grows uncertain, the school loses money, and the word "fair" never once comes into play. This is but one example of how a school can "fail" students without solid measures in place. Of course, one can't forget about other pressing issues facing traditional schools, as well, including Ohio Graduation Test (OGT) success and the growing popularity of charter schools.

There is also another end of the school spectrum: Online Schools. These schools don't suffer when a student can't learn on-site, because they offer state-accredited, remote education to those for which a traditional education may not be appropriate. The catch is that online schools are only as good as their teachers, their content and certainly their means of delivery. These schools depend upon a reliable, 24/7 LMS for delivering both custom and professionally developed online curriculum to each and every student on the roster.

So, how is IQity able to meet the needs of both extremes? Simply put, IQity is built for integration and blending. Content within IQity can replace a text-book completely, or it can reinforce one.

Curriculum

The resident high school curriculum content within IQity is provided by #1-ranked Class.com. This content truly shines when an institution intends to provide a full-time or supplemental education to students. In other situations (perhaps a teacher already has his or her own digital content), IQity offers an array of content management tools, allowing educators to share and host documents and HTML pages they've personally created or have found elsewhere. Using all or a mix of both elements can meet the needs of any learning institution, despite specific goals.

Regardless of how much a school uses an LMS, what really matters is how the school uses it. As an administrative trainer for a front-runner LMS, educators ask me, "How exactly should I use IQity?" This is one question I really can't answer -- at least not accurately. Every school is going to use IQity in a way that benefits their faculty and students most. This varies -- at times drastically -- from district-to-district, and even from school-to-school within one school district. The best answer I can offer is, "Get into IQity and explore. You'll answer that question yourself!"

Jason Gary
IQity
Professional Development Specialist
877-474-8966

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

School Districts with Money Doesn’t Mean Academic Proficiency

2007-07-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

The Tribune Chronicle has an article published today showing that just because a school district has money does not mean the school has academic proficiency. For the third year in a row McDonald has boasted the highest percentage of students who passed the Ohio Graduation Test. McDonald Local School District ranks 19th in per-pupil spending out of 20 Trumbull County districts

Howland ranked first or close to first in many Ohio Achievement Test categories this year. Nine Trumbull school districts saw a decrease this year in the percentage of students passing the Ohio graduation test. Bloomfield-Mespo has tumbled 16.7%; Bristol has dropped more than 14 percent. McDonald Local School district ranked first in Trumbull County for three years in a row and still managed to improve with a 1.8% increase in the number of students passing all five of the OGT sections. The lesson here is that money does not equate to academic proficiency.

To read the entire article, read the story here

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Manchester Local School District Updates

2007-07-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

On July 9th during a board of education meeting Manchester Local School District Superintendent Robert Ralstin gave a presentation about the district's Ohio Department of Education test results.

Ralstin said that in grades three through eight, students take the Ohio Achievement Tests, and in grades 10 and 11, students take the Ohio Graduation Tests. He noted an overall improvement in the district toward meeting the Ohio state indicators.

He also said there was overall improvement in the district for meeting state indicators with economically disadvantaged students. Ralstin admits that it exhibits where they are not making progress in some areas; they are making some progress in some areas.

To read the entire article, read the story here

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Batavia School District Effective

2007-07-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Ohio Department of Education released preliminary test results earlier this month on their web site from the Ohio Achievement Tests. School districts have 30 days to verify the data before final report card rankings are released. Preliminary reports show the Batavia school district receiving an "effective" state report card rating this year.

To read the entire article, read the story on Ohio Graduation Test

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Goshen Tests Effective

2007-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

Preliminary OGT test results were released by the Ohio Department of Education for Goshen schools. Three of the four Goshen schools will receive an effective rating on the state report card. Spaulding Elementary will continue to be rated excellent. Schools must pass 29 or 30 of the indicators to be ranked "excellent, Goshen met 25 out of 30 state indicators. The indicators are made up of test scores, graduation rate and attendance.

To read the entire article, read the story on Ohio Graduation Test

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Preliminary Results are in for Youngstown

2007-07-27T09:19:00.000-07:00

Preliminary OGT test results are in for Youngstown Ohio. Almost two-thirds of the public school 10th-graders who took the Ohio Graduation Test in March passed all five sections of the exam. 134,010 public school students took the test. The figures are only preliminary; the final version will be reported in the annual state local report cards in mid-August. Youngstown city schools showed improvement over 2006 preliminary scores but is still lagging behind all the other public schools in the tri-county area in terms of percentage of students passing all five sections of the test. Canfield schools scored highest from Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties with nearly 90% of its 10th graders scoring proficient or above in all five of the test categories.

To read the entire article, read the story on Ohio Graduation Test

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Minority Students Being Left Behind

2007-07-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

Ohio’s efforts to give high-school students early access to college courses, is leaving minority students behind. School’s in Franklin County have among the state's lowest student-participation rates in Post-Secondary Enrollment Options, a state initiative that allows high schoolers to earn credit toward a college degree while they are also earning a high-school diploma by taking college courses at no charge to the student.

Michele Brown, manager of the program for OSU. Says it is her opinion that “Since this program first started, it was never promoted to give access for underserved students as much as it was to give students who are ready for college a head start." Ohio State University has about 400 students in the program. A number that has remained steady since 2000, more than 80% of those students are from suburban schools and likely would have gone to college anyway.

To read the entire article, visit the story on Ohio Graduation Test

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Decrease in Students Scoring Proficient at Trumbul County School Districts

2007-07-26T20:07:00.000-07:00

The 2006-2007 school year was the first year that passing the Ohio Graduation became mandatory to pass in order to graduate. Despite this 9 of the 20 Trumbull County School districts saw a decrease from last year in the percentage of students who scored either proficient or better in all five sections of the test.

According to the results that were recently released from the Ohio Department of Education, Bloomfield-Mespo School District had the largest decrease at 16.7 %.

Weathersfield school district saw the largest boost in overall scores, with an increase of 16.5%.

Read the rest of the report by clicking the above link.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Cleveland Public Schools: Ginn Academy

2007-07-26T19:53:00.000-07:00

Tuesday the Cleveland public schools announced that the Ginn Academy will open this August in a part of an existing school building, serving about 150 students in the ninth and 10th grades. The school district is trying to overcome their low academic performance and a high dropout rate.
Students in the Cleveland school district fell short of statewide proficiency scores in reading, writing, math, science and social studies on the 10th and 11th grade Ohio Graduation Test. Only 47.2 percent of Cleveland students met the goal in the 11th grade OGT science category. While 82.8 percent were proficient statewide.
The graduation rate for Cleveland Public Schools for the 2005-2006 school years was only 51.8%, according to the Ohio Department of Education, while the statewide graduation rate was 86.2%.

Read the rest of the article by clicking above.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Grant for Hamilton City School District

2007-07-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

Tuesday board members in the Hamilton City School District voted to accept a 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant that is awarded by the Ohio Department of Education.
The grant could net the Hamilton City School District $850,000 over the next five years that will be used to finance salaries, professional development, supplies, materials and equipment for the HOPE in the Neighborhoods Program — an extension of HOPE School.
To read the rest of this article click above.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Tuscarawas County Scored a Little Above State Standards

2007-07-24T08:24:00.000-07:00

The school districts in Tuscarawas County were slightly above state standards, except in science and social studies where the districts throughout the state ranked poorly. School administrators throughout the Tuscarawas Valley are figuring out how to maintain and raise students’ scores on the state’s mandated achievement tests.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Upgrading Computers at Geneva Schools

2007-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

194 computers have been installed this year. This replaces the Geneva district’s 2003 hardware. Eighth-grade students at Geneva Schools will enjoy new computers in their classrooms this school year. Classrooms are being provided with new software to help the students prepare for the Ohio Graduation Test.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Preliminary Results for the Ohio Achievement Tests

2007-07-22T22:42:00.000-07:00

The tests, for students in grades 3rd through 8th, show the rating each school district will receive on its report card in August. Report cards are annual performance reports that detail students’ performances on standardized statewide tests, the rates of improvement and student attendance and the graduation rates. Last week the Ohio Department of Education released the preliminary results for the Ohio Achievement Tests that students statewide took in May.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Lorain City School Students Score Poorly

2007-07-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Lorain City School students scored the lowest in the county on 16 of the 18 Ohio Achievement Tests that students in the third through eighth grades took this year. Compared to the same grade level from March 2006, six groups of Lorain scores went up and seven went down, according to the preliminary test results.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Vanguard-Sentinel Career Centers Board of Education have revised courses

2007-07-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

In order to keep up with state standards and also to prepare for testing, Vanguard-Sentinel Career Centers Board of Education in Fremont Ohio has revised their courses for the 2007-08 school years. The labs at Vanguard are also being updated to better prepare their students for the Ohio Graduation Test.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Five New Tests Proving Difficult for Students

2007-07-21T22:32:00.000-07:00

There are five categories that were added this year to the Ohio report card, which is Ohio's system for measuring a school district's success. The new categories are fifth grade science and social studies, seventh grade writing and eighth grade science and social studies. New indicators in social studies and science on the state's report card are proving to be difficult for local students and could cause some districts to receive a lower rating from the state this year. The preliminary data shows that science and social studies indicators are the most commonly missed standards for local school districts, especially this year's new tests in eighth and fifth grade science and social studies

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Fairfield City Schools Drop from Excellent to Effective

2007-07-21T22:19:00.000-07:00

At a board meeting Thursday the Fairfield City Schools, district officials said that although preliminary results show the district dropping from an Excellent ranking to Effective, scores were well above state averages. Of the five new tests teachers and students had not seen before, students passed four and the high school students passed all of the indicators for the Ohio Graduation Test.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Cleveland seniors try to pass Ohio Graduation Test

2007-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

1,315 seniors in the Cleveland School District did not pass all five sections of the Ohio Graduation Test and they have the opportunity to retake it this week. Of those, only 300 took part in the district's free tutoring offered by the district. The students will not have another chance to take the test until October.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Seniors retaking Ohio Graduation Test

2007-07-17T13:41:00.000-07:00

234 Columbus Public School seniors are signed up for tutoring to help them pass the Ohio Graduation Test. The district had 269 students who could not graduate because they did not pass all five portions of the OGT. State law makes an allowance for students who participate in summer tutoring sessions, provided that they have a 2.5 grade point average in the subject, score within ten points of passing and meet other criteria.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.

Ohio Graduation Test results excellent in Bexley

2007-07-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Bexley City School District has been rated as excellent by the Ohio Department of Education. Part of the rating is determined by the districts performance on the Ohio Graduation Test. 87.3 percent of the district's 10th graders passed all five sections of the test.

Your school can obtain a free online OGT Practice Guide - which is part of IQity's Learning Suite. Sign up now.