The Associated Press

CLEVELAND - Ohio's big-city school districts want a new way to measure their performance.

The districts contend they are posting dramatic gains in test scores, attendance and graduation rates, but those gains are not reflected in the report cards the state issues.

"Parents need the true picture of what's happening in their district, and bottom-line test scores are not always an accurate picture," said Columbus schools Superintendent Gene Harris.

Columbus schools' just-released report card shows it still in "academic emergency" because it matched or exceeded state-imposed passage rates in only five areas.

But the district's 65,000 students are improving. The district posted gains in 21 of the 22 standards.

All eight of the state's largest urban districts showed improvement, even though their scores remained well below more affluent school districts.

"None of that growth is reflected in the report cards," said Cleveland Teachers Union President Richard DeColibus. "There's no argument, the scores are far too low and that we have to do better. But people also have to recognize we are improving, we are improving significantly and we are improving across the board."

State Superintendent Susan Tave Zelman said the state is working on incorporating a more advanced progress indicator into its report cards.