Students in Ohio’s public school system have long been graded on an A through F system. Now, school systems will be held to the same standard.

The Ohio Department of Education has rolled out the first phase of its new report card system that is a big change from what administrators, teachers, parents and taxpayers are used to seeing.

The new approach is far from perfect but goes a long way toward achieving its goals of raising standards, identifying areas of weakness that can be improved upon and painting a clearer picture of the quality of education being provided across a broad spectrum of areas.

Many in the community were likely shocked when they saw the results for Lawrence County’s schools, many of which included what is perceived as low letter grades in some of the important measurement areas.

This doesn’t mean Lawrence County has bad schools or that the quality of education diminished from last year when every school received what were widely considered very favorable scores.

It simply means there are areas that need to be improved upon and the standards are higher.

Ohio’s educational system still needs an overhaul to reduce the emphasis on standardized tests and upgrade antiquated teaching methods but, until that happens, this new report card system is a step in the right direction

Local educators can now see where their schools stands and create a plan that will both achieve high marks and offer the best education possible.