Superintendent: Dayton schools report card will be worse this fall

Dayton Public Schools’ state report card for 2017-18 will be worse than the year before, Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli told school board members Monday night.

“I want the board of education and the public to understand that the test results that come out … are not likely going to be the best work that you’ve ever seen produced by our Dayton Public School district team,” Lolli said.

RELATED: A detailed look at DPS’ report card from 2016-17

While results are still preliminary until the state report card is released in mid-September, Lolli said the district’s overall report card “dropped,” with very small improvements on some subject tests, but declines in others.

Last year, Dayton Public Schools’ performance index on state tests was 47.6 of 100, ahead of only Trotwood among 600-plus school districts in Ohio. DPS got an “F” on performance index for 2016-17, and that grade is likely to remain an “F” this year. The district got a “D” in year-over-year progress last year, showing higher gains than all of Ohio’s large urban districts except Toledo. That grade for 2017-18 is not yet clear.

Lolli said a year of turmoil in 2017-18 likely contributed to the test score decline. The district narrowly avoided a teachers strike at the start of the school year and lost many teachers to other districts. Superintendent Rhonda Corr was ousted in November, leading to significant leadership shakeups. The winter featured a public discussion of likely school closings (only one closed so far), and this spring, bus drivers came two days away from striking.

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