Ohio Virtual Academy Receives High Scores on OGT

With all the news coming out about results of The Ohio Graduation it may seem that all schools are having trouble getting students prepared for the exams. This is not always the case.

Ohio Virtual Academy students received high scores on the Ohio Graduation Test. The results were recently released by the Ohio Department of Education.
The public eSchool’s tenth grade students exceeded the state’s average in each of the five sections of the Ohio Graduation Test. A large majority of the students scored in the top two levels, Advanced and accelerated. Ohio Virtual Academy also has a 100% participation on the test.

The Ohio Virtual Academy currently serves over 4,000 students in grades K-11 across the state. This was the first year the Ohio Virtual Academy, a K-11 public eSchool, was eligible to participate in the Ohio Graduation Test.

Susan Stagner who is the Head of School for the Ohio Virtual Academy, delivered testimony at the State Capitol May 29th before the Senate Finance Committee in support of public charter schools and eSchools and praised the strong test scores.
Susan told members of the Committee that these scores not only demonstrate hard work by the school's students, teachers, and staff, but they also show that public eSchools do continue to work for many of Ohio’s kids.

Waterford High School Seniors Who Failed OGT Still Walked in Commencement Today

Waterford High School Seniors who haven’t passed the Ohio Graduation Tests were still able to walk across the stage during today’s commencement. A article in the Marietta Times May 22nd states why a resolution was adopted to allow the 4 students who did not pass all five sections of the Ohio Graduation Test, hut were still allowed to participate in the commencement.
Prior to the May 21st action by the school board, if a Waterford senior qualified in all other areas, but they had not passed the Ohio Graduation Test, they would not have been allowed to cross the stage with the rest of the graduating class.

The resolution though allows students to walk with their graduating class as long as their school attendance has been good or at least improved from the previous year, they have passed four of the five required Ohio Graduation Test sections and that they continue to attempt passage of the final test, they have passed classes in the area of the failed test and attended intervention classes for the failed exam and they must meet all other graduation requirements.

Bob Caldwell, Wolf Creek superintendent of schools, said that there are only 52 students in the graduating class this year, and four of those would not receive a diploma because they hadn’t completed the Ohio Graduation Test. He stated that this could be an issue in a small community like Waterford.

“Because of our size people can find out things that may lead to embarrassing situations for these students,” Caldwell added. He led the effort to have the policy changed so students who didn’t pass the Ohio Graduation Test, but were otherwise qualified, could still walk with their classmates.

Akron Ohio Ohio Graduation Test Results

Newsnet5.com reported May 18th that some Akron Ohio High School Seniors are facing not graduating with the rest of their class, because they did not pass each section of the Ohio Graduation Test. Everyone knows that graduating high school is a huge and very important event.

Many students are upset. They have attended school for all these years and now due to one test they are being prevented from obtaining their diploma.

The Superintendent of Akron School Dr. Sylvester Small is no fan of the Ohio Graduation Test.

He said tests are supposed to be used to help educators help the students to learn so teachers can figure out what and how to teach. "All this test means is that on this particular test, I got this score and I passed or failed it. It does not mean I'm going to be a great student; it's not a predictor of college or life, it’s not a predictor of anything," he said.

Concerned parents should talk to their state legislators about these tests that are putting lots of stress on students as young as the third-grade.

Results are coming out for all Ohio School districts and we will see how the 2007 graduating class has done with the Ohio Graduation Test.

Iq-ity - Paving a Path in Education

Teachers, and administrators are constantly looking for ways to ensure students do well in school and receive the education that they deserve. There also may be a way to do this and also cut down o the costs schools spend each year. The Plan Dealer has a great piece covering, online schools such as ECOT and also online learning programs that can enhance and improve the brick and mortar school experience such as Iq-ity that you can read about. Many Ohio Schools use Iq-ity for preparation for the Ohio Graduation Test.

Last month at the American Association of School Administrators conference in New Orleans Altair launched the IQity Learning Suite. This product electronically reproduces the school experience for teachers and students. Iq-ity is a great asset to helping students prepare for the Ohio Graduation test
IQ-ity gives students and teachers interactive, one-on-one learning in an online suite of "rooms". These rooms include a home-room where students check in, a teacher's lounge where the instructors can swap tips and strategies, and even a science lab where students can splash chemicals without any one getting hurt.
Iq-ity also features an Ohio Graduation Test practice test and study guide that can be tailored for exams in other states.

There were over 80 school districts in Ohio that this year used a free trial of Iq-ity so students could prepare even more for the Ohio Graduation Test, many of these school districts are considering purchasing IQ-ity next year.

Ohio Graduation Test

Last week students in high school sophomores, juniors and seniors in Ohio were put through the rigors of taking the Ohio Graduation Test. 10th graders got their first crack at taking the Ohio Graduation Test which students must now pass all five sections of by their senior year in order to get their diploma.

The five categories in the Ohio Graduation Test are reading, math, writing, science and social studies. The graduating class of 2007 is the first year that students have to pass all sections in order to obtain their diploma and graduate.
Schools administered the Ohio Graduation Test last year to prepare the students for what was ahead of them this year. Last year, for example, Lebanon High School had 72.4 percent of its students pass all of the sections.

Ohio schools have a routine they used to prepare students for the Ohio Graduation Test. The way schools prepare consists of weekly practices student complete in their home rooms, after school classes or at their own homes using online prep tests such as Iq-ity.

Sophomores and juniors who took the test last week and did not pass all sections will have to re take the sections again and pass all sections by their senior year or they will not graduate.

Ohio Graduation Test: Saturday School In Newark Ohio

The Ohio Graduation Test is just about to begin for Ohio school district students. The testing starts March 12th. Ohio has had some bad winter weather that has caused schools to cancel classes several times this year. Most schools make these days up at the end of the year. However, Newark High School has decided to make these days up by having Saturday school. To read the article in Sundays Columbus Dispatch click on link above.