A Middletown Journal analysis of the incomplete 2011-12 state report cards released Wednesday shows many area school districts could retain their current rating based on the crucial value-added measure.

While Middletown City Schools failed to meet any of the 14 Ohio Achievement Assessment requirements, Superintendent Greg Rasmussen said he was encouraged with the district’s second-consecutive “above” rating in the value-added aspect of the report card. Last year, Middletown Schools were rated “Continuous Improvement.”

“We’re continuing to see positive change,” Rasmussen said. “We all realize this is just the foundation and that we have a lot of work to do. We’re pleased with the continued progress, but we’re not satisfied with where we are either.”

The district is the only one in Butler County not to meet state requirements in any of the Ohio Achievement Assessment indicators, but Middletown’s scores improved in 19 of the 24 categories over last year.

The Ohio Department of Education released a slimmed-down version of the annual report cards because of the ongoing statewide investigation into whether some school districts manipulated attendance data to improve their ratings.

The preliminary data spreadsheet does not include attendance rates, Performance Index score or overall district ratings from “Excellent with Distinction” to “Academic Emergency,” the equivalent of an A-plus to F letter grade.

Final report cards containing that information won’t be released until the state auditor’s office investigation is complete.

The preliminary report cards included 25 state indicators showing the results of how students performed on the OAAs and OGTs, the graduation rate, value-added and Adequate Yearly Progress.

Value-added shows whether fourth- through eighth-grade students have made a year’s worth of progress. Although the ODE noted that it is just one factor in a district’s rating, last year none of Butler County’s districts earned the state’s top rating without exceeding that measure.

By meeting the value-added measure, Monroe may retain its “Excellent” rating.

Monroe interim superintendent Phil Cagwin said his district was the only one in the Middletown area to have surpassed each of the OAA requirements.

“As an outsider studying these scores, I can tell you that this is very good news for our district,” Cagwin said. “It’s something the teachers, students and their parents should feel good about.”

The Carlisle Local School District met 23 of the 24 indicators, falling short in its seventh-grade math score. But even that number was a higher score for the district than last year.

“We’re exactly where we thought we were with the scores,” Carlisle Superintendent Larry Hook said.

By meeting its value added component, Hook said he expects the district to maintain its “Excellent” rating for the second consecutive year.

“It’s our goal to make ‘Excellent’ our standard, not an exception,” he said.

The Madison and Franklin school districts each attained indicator scores above the state requirement in 22 of the 24 categories. Both districts also met the value-added measure.

Last year, Madison was rated “Excellent,” while Franklin was “Effective.”

Staff writer Margo Rutledge Kissell contributed to this report.