Test scores, enrollment and attendance plummet

Ohio school report card data released Thursday morning showed statewide drops in student performance, enrollment and attendance.

Local districts reflected the same trends, most alarmingly in the percentage of students who tested at proficient or higher on standardized tests.

More: State report cards on school performance provide data, but no letter grades

The results came as no surprise, as education experts have warned of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students and learning over the last year and a half.All 49 public school districts in southwest Ohio – covering Butler, Clermont, Hamilton and Warren counties – showed slight to significant drops in the overall percentage of students who tested at proficient or higher last year compared to the 2017-2018 school year. 

These annual tests evaluate students in grades 3, 4, 6 and 7 in English language arts and math, students in grades 5 and 8 in English language arts, math and science and high schoolers in math, science, English, government and history.