FAIRBORN — The Fairborn City School District received 17 of 25 stars on the recent report card released by the Ohio Department of Education.

Districts are evaluated in several areas and received up to five stars instead of letter grades as in the past.

The district “Gap Closing Component” received five stars and the “Progress Component” received four stars.

These two components are extremely important in the overall reporting, district officials said. Gap Closing measures the reduction in educational gaps for student subgroups. The Progress Component looks closely at the growth of all students based on their past performance.

In Achievement and Graduation, the district received three out of five stars. According to a release, the district is working to improve in both of these areas in myriad ways:

— In K-8 classrooms, literacy and math coaches are supporting quality instruction in all classrooms. Coaches assist teachers with input and data to help each student to be successful.

— A universal screener is measuring student growth and achievement. The screener is looking at data and sharing this information directly with teachers which improves instruction for each individual student’s needs.

— Align K-8 math instruction with a new common math adoption. Teachers looked at K-8 math instructional materials and had input on the selection of materials by grade level. This coordinated approach allows for teachers to work together to look at each grade level and the big picture of the materials at each grade level.

— The gifted coordinator works with staff and students to improve differentiation and enrichment. The coordinator helps teachers with individual student assignments and projects to keep students progressing at their individual pace.

“We will be working hard in the ‘three star’ areas with a special focus on chronic absenteeism,” the district said in a release. “Last year’s reporting included extended absences due to quarantine.”

In Early Literacy, the district received two stars. The district has added Success Literacy Intervention which supports teachers in grades K-3 and focuses on the reading foundation skills of phonological awareness and phonics. There are literacy coaches who support teachers, professional development for teachers, a universal screener to help to place students in adaptive personalized learning programs, and the alignment of the success program and Title I with common evidence based phonics intervention.

In Graduation, the Graduation Component is a measure of the four-year graduation rate and the five-year graduation rate. The four-year graduation rate was 91 percent, while the five-year rate was 88.8 percent. The district offers a summer program/credit recovery options for seniors who do not graduate in May, timeline for written graduation plans, and intervention/supports for students before they need credit recovery.

District officials said the report card provides critical data and information to guide building and district leadership in planning district goals, building-level goals, and in providing the needed supports for teachers and students to be successful in the classroom. However this particular report card was likely impacted due to COVID.

“This evaluation is based mainly on measurements from the 2020-2021 school year,” the release said. “During this school year, half of our students were virtual and half of our students were in the building.”