Hudson schools earn five-star state report card marks

by Judy Stringer

Sept. 28 board of education meeting

The Hudson City School District has once again achieved a top-tier rating on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce annual report card, earning five stars across all state-rated components. Assistant Superintendent Angela Terella highlighted the district’s Performance Index score of 108.2 – a 98.2% achievement rating that places Hudson as the highest-ranking school district in Summit County.

“To continue to raise that performance index means that our students are working really hard, as well as our staff members,” Terella told the board.

She also addressed areas of improvement, particularly on the newer and unrated “College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness” metric, where Hudson earned three stars. Terella pointed out that while Hudson excels in traditional academic markers, such as Advanced Placement exams and the ACT/SAT, it has lower participation rates in pre-apprenticeships, dual-enrollment college credits, or College Credit Plus, and industry credentials. To bridge this gap, district administrators have begun identifying high school courses that qualify for pre-apprenticeship approval and encouraging students with work-study schedules to earn the Ohio Means Jobs Readiness Seal.

Additionally, the assistant superintendent highlighted ongoing efforts to enhance gifted service offerings at the high school level and expand early literacy initiatives, such as the Summer Spark boost program, to prevent summer slide and ensure emerging readers are prepared for early fall testing.

Star-studded

Under the state’s evaluation system, Hudson earned five stars across all core-rated areas, beginning with Achievement, which measures overall student proficiency on spring state assessments. Points are weighted based on performance levels, ranging from limited and basic up to advanced plus, which earns 1.3 points per test. Hudson’s score of 108.2 reflects a high concentration of students scoring in the highest tiers.

On Progress, which evaluates individual student growth over time starting in fourth grade, Hudson also earned five stars. Terella likened the complex progress formula to maintaining or advancing one’s place in a line: “If the line moves up one and I move up two, that means I’m above expected growth.” Hudson’s overall score of 28.87 indicates that student academic growth across the district was far beyond the 2.0 threshold required for a five-star progress rating.

The district scored five stars in Gap Closing, assessing whether schools meet performance expectations for specific student subgroups – including race, socioeconomic status and special education – in English language arts, math and graduation rates. While the district’s overall gap-closing score increased year over year, Terella said Hudson fell below expectations in a subcategory related to identifying and serving gifted students because it currently does not offer formal gifted programs at the high school.

In Early Literacy, Hudson earned five stars for reading diagnostic performance and progress for kindergarten through third-grade students. The metric tracks proficiency on state tests, promotion to fourth grade and the movement of students off Reading Improvement Plans. Terella noted that with over 90% of Hudson kindergarteners passing initial reading diagnostics, fewer than 10% require improvement plans. Because of that low threshold, movement off reading plans is calculated only on building-level report cards, not at the district level.

Rounding out the five-star scores is Graduation, where Hudson’s four- and five-year high school graduation rate reaches 97.9%.

In the College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness metric, Hudson earned three stars. The indicator measures how prepared high school graduates are for postsecondary success by tracking AP performance, College Credit Plus enrollment, ACT/SAT benchmarks, military enlistment, industry credentials and pre-apprenticeships. While displayed alongside the core report card components, this category does not factor into the district’s overall star rating.

Beyond the stars

Among the district’s other accomplishments, Terella cited 11 National Merit finalists, 17 commended scholars and 740 students who took 1,780 AP tests last spring. About 130 students participate in career and technical education programs – nearly a third of the junior and senior classes, by her estimate.

She also noted hands-on learning initiatives not captured in state evaluations, such as Middle School AI Exploration Days, project-based learning experiences, community service clubs and outdoor learning opportunities.

“The state report card is very important … but I also think there are some instances of this program that we offer to our students and our community members that can’t be captured on the state report card,” Terella said.