U.S. News and World Report has released its rankings of public high schools and in the state rankings, Ottawa Hills is ranked 22nd, a drop from 10th in 2023, while Perrysburg, on the other hand, rose to 26th from its 51st spot last year.
Ottawa Hills Superintendent Adam Fineske said the data used in the rankings is two years old.
“The data is based on Ohio School Report Card test scores from two years ago,” Mr. Fineske said. “That was from the 2021-2022 school year. It was a year after COVID, and every school took a hit. We were No. 1 in 2020, but that data was from 2018.”
Mr. Fineske said the district saw test scores for 2021-22 and made significant changes immediately. The district saw that math scores had dropped.
“We put in action steps to help in the math scores immediately,” he said. “We redistributed math teachers in the high school. We restructured the math course of study, increased math support services, and have come up with strong, math-specific developmental courses for our teachers.”
Mr. Fineske said the methodology used in the U.S. News data has also changed.
“Their methodology has changed every year so it is hard to even compare the district’s ranking from year to year,” he said. “They are now using different percentages in their calculations. For a small school, it is easy to see fluctuations yearly because of our size. So, we knew we had a couple of students that did not do well in math. One student represents 1 percent in the rankings. In larger schools, that is not the case. We are at a disadvantage because of our size. We actually thought we might have a worse score.”
Perrysburg Schools Superintendent Thomas L. Hosler said they were grateful for the school ranking they received.
“We have wonderful teachers and terrific students,” Mr. Hosler said. “They all work hard daily to improve, so it is nice that their efforts are recognized. It is a moment we can take and say, ‘That is great.’ Then the work continues.”
Mr. Hosler said he knew the percentages used in the rankings had changed. He said every district and community is different, and all districts, large or small, face different challenges.
“This one measurement does not define everything we do for our students,” Mr. Hosler said. “In the end, we want to provide great educational opportunities for our students. We are happy that there is now some great attention being paid for the work our teachers, students and families in the district do daily. Now we move on to even greater things next year.”
U.S. News also ranked schools within the Toledo area. Ottawa Hills is in the top position with Perrysburg in second. Sylvania Northview, Pettisville, Sylvania Southview, Anthony Wayne, Maumee, Oak Harbor, Evergreen, and Toledo Technology Academy round out the top 10. Toledo Early College is 11th.
“The district is very proud to be No. 1 in the Toledo area, Mr. Fineske said. “We have 17 AP courses, and we are No. 9 in college readiness. I guess we are not so worried about a two-year-old data point. We are more concerned about what we are doing currently.”
Mr. Fineske said the district currently has five stars on its state report card. He believes the district is climbing back up in the rankings.
“As a district, we remind ourselves that the breadth and depth of what we want to accomplish with our students goes beyond test scores,” he said. “We look at the whole child so they can be the most successful in life.”
Toledo Public Schools Superintendent Romules Durant was happy with two of the district’s magnet schools TTA and early college placing in the top 11 in the area.
TTA ranked 190th in the state. The early college is 191st in Ohio. There are 41 high schools ranked in the Toledo metropolitan area.
“I am excited about the rankings and the effort of the staff and the students in our magnet schools,” Mr. Durant said. “As more of our magnet schools qualify to be in the rankings, I believe most of them will be ranked in the top of the list for our local area.”
Mr. Durant said the magnet schools in the district all have waiting lists for students to attend.
“Right now our magnet schools are full, and we are now challenged to try and figure out how to expand the schools in order to bring in more students,” he said. “We have some students from outside the district in TTA and early college. We just have to figure out how to expand the programs.”
Mr. Durant said the district had 30 students from the early college graduate last week from the University of Toledo with associate degrees. Another 90 percent of the seniors will graduate from TPS having earned 40 or more college credits.
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