Westlake City Schools Rate Excellent Once Again

Students are heading back to class in excellent classrooms today. The Ohio Department of Education released its annual State Report Cards Wednesday morning, giving the city school district a rating of Excellent for the 13th consecutive year. Excellent is the second highest of six possible grades.

In the vast majority of grades and subjects, Westlake students have made a percentage or two of improvement in the last year. The graduation rate has stayed at a steady 98 percent for the last three years.

Last year, the school district met all standards in areas like math, science and writing, with a performance index of 106.2 percent. This year, the district met all 26 standards and went even beyond that to earn a performance index score of 107.2 percent—  the highest the district has ever earned. The score is the weighted average of all students tested in grades three through eight, along with students taking the 10th grade Ohio Graduation Test.

“This gives us a chance to celebrate what the kids have done well, and also to set our goals,” said Superintendent Dan Keenan. “We take this information and look at where we can improve. We’re always looking to exceed or grow.”

That number also places Westlake in the top 95 percent of all districts in the state.

"We're proud of that," Keenan said, noting that the neighboring Rocky River district also ranked extremely high at 110.9 percent."We're in a good region."

The report card also shows that out of all Westlake students taking the Ohio Graduation Test, 97.8 percent are proficient in the reading portion, 93.4 percent in math, 98.4 percent in writing, 93.1 in social studies and 91.9 percent in science.

Nearby Avon Lake, Lakewood, Fairview Park and Bay Village were all rated Excellent. Avon, North Ridgeville and Rocky River earned Excellent with Distinction. Lorain went from Academic Watch to Continuous Improvement status.

Check out the box below to see how kids across the district are measuring up to the state standards.