By Jennifer Mrozowski
Enquirer staff writer

After two years of being in the lowest state category for student achievement, the Cincinnati Public School District has shed its label of "academic emergency."

Superintendent Alton Frailey announced Friday that preliminary test scores and attendance rates show Cincinnati schools have improved enough to merit being on "academic watch," the second-lowest of the five state rankings on student performance.

"Today is indeed a day of celebration," he said. "The results are preliminary and could change, but we have crunched and crunched and crunched and think they will hold up."

While Frailey touted the gains, he said the district still needs improvement.

"We're not where we want to be," he said.

For example, fewer than half the district's fourth- and sixth-graders passed reading, math, citizenship and science tests.

Frailey noted that the district improved in each of the 18 performance categories that are used to calculate the state ranking, including double-digit gains in some areas. The district met the minimum passing standard in five of those 18.

Frailey said the district was just shy of reaching the middle ranking called "continuous improvement" - a feat it has never accomplished.

The ranking is based on test scores, graduation rates, attendance and rate of academic improvement.

The new ranking comes as the school board is expected to vote Monday to place a five-year, $65 million tax levy renewal on the November ballot.

Cincinnati Public has only climbed out of emergency status once before - for performance during the 2000-01 school year.

Frailey said the district used a three-prong approach for improvement last year:

• Ensuring teachers and students focused on the state standards, which describe academic content the state says each student should know at every grade level.

• Frequently monitoring student progress toward reaching the standards.

• Developing targeted lessons to help struggling students.

Teachers said the district's focus on state standards helped focus their teaching and improve student performance.

"There really was a laser-like emphasis on teaching what needed to be taught," said Sue Taylor, president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers.

A history of Cincinnati schools' state rankings

1998-99 - academic emergency

1999-00 - academic emergency

2000-01 - academic watch

2001-02 - academic emergency

2002-03 - academic emergency

2003-04 - academic watch

Rankings from highest to lowest are: "excellent," "effective," "continuous improvement," "academic watch" and "academic emergency." Beginning in 2000-01, the number of rankings increased from four to five when "excellent" was added.

The rankings are based on student performance in 18 categories. The categories are: attendance rate; graduation rate; third-grade reading tests; and fourth-, sixth- and 10-grade tests in writing, reading, math, science and citizenship.

Districts also receive credit for rate of improvement for student achievement.

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E-mail jmrozowski@enquirer.com