The report cards are in, showing that some Lawrence County schools may be on the honor roll while others are in need of some proverbial tutoring.

The Ohio Department of Education released its annual report cards last week showing how each building and each school district stacks up with state requirements and also other comparable schools.

Once again, Lawrence county has much of which to be proud. Many schools did a tremendous job of making the grade and ensuring that the students are getting the best possible education.

Standouts include thge Fairland district and Chesapeake Elementary and Middle Schools.

Others made improvements but still have much work to do.

These statistics are vital tools that can be used to measure the schools’ progress and their effectiveness at educating students.

However, statistics do not always tell the whole story and can be misleading or skewed when it comes to measuring overall student success.

Test scores are only one part of the equation.

Opportunities, extracurricular activities, career development, graduation rates, teacher involvement, higher education attainment and other indicators also must be factored in to properly gauge the big picture.

We do hope that schools that were found lacking by the state’s measure take a long, hard look at everything they do and also look at what others who have been successful have done to turn this around.

This shouldn’t be the last word on determining educational success but should be the first step toward developing a plan to reach the ultimate goal of providing Lawrence County’s students with the best education possible.