February 3, 2020
COLUMBUS — As Ohio lawmakers consider changes to state-issued report cards, a new poll shows that parents support the continued use of A-F letter grades to rate individual schools and districts, and say the measure is easy to understand.
About 38% of those responding to the poll said letter grades were the best measure, followed by 30% who preferred numerical scores, 0-100. That difference falls within the online poll’s margin of error, plus/minus 4.4%.
Nearly 1 in 5 parents said text descriptions like “above expectations” were the best alternative, while only 8% preferred a 1-5 star rating, according to the poll released Monday.
Parents overwhelmingly found letter grades to be straightforward, with more than 9 in 10 agreeing they were easy to understand. And, 87% said A-F grades were an appropriate way to measure the overall performance of a school or district.