The Light Bearer

How Black students are performing in Ohio schools

In Ohio, 42.2% of Black students are proficient in reading at the typical school — against 62.1% of White students. Within Cincinnati Public Schools alone, the gap between the best and worst schools for Black children is 95 points. This tool helps you find the right one.

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49.8%
All students
39.1%
Black
48.2%
Hispanic
60.6%
White
73.3%
Asian

Share of students meeting proficient at the typical Ohio school. Groups are shown wherever Ohio reports them; a group is omitted from a school when too few students were tested to report safely.

These figures come from Ohio State Tests 2025, measuring proficient in ELA & Math · Grades 3–8. Across 405 districts, 1,323 Ohio schools report enough results to be included.

At the typical Ohio school the picture is black students at 39.1%, hispanic students at 48.2%, white students at 60.6% and asian students at 73.3%. That is a 34.2-point spread between the highest and lowest group, inside the same schools, the same districts and the same state — which is what this tool exists to make visible.

What the Ohio data shows

Opportunity
24

Ohio schools earn an A for Black students

An A means 80% or more of Black students are proficient. Twenty-four schools clear it — led by Walnut Hills High in Cincinnati at 94.8% across 248 Black student results, and Orchard Middle in Solon at 91.1%. Another 61 reach 70%.

Disparity
94.8 pts

gap between the best and worst schools for Black students in Cincinnati Public Schools

Walnut Hills High School reaches 94.8%. Dr. O’dell Owens Center for Learning, in the same district, reports 0%. Across 58 schools in one district, a child's address decides which end they land on.

Statewide
37 pts

separates Black and White students in Ohio math

29.8% of Black students are proficient in math, against 66.8% of White students — the widest subject gap of any state here. Reading is 32.8 points. Measured across 121,136 Black student results.

Where Black students are doing best in Ohio

These are the schools where Black students most often meet proficient, among those with at least 25 Black student results reported. Every group's result is shown alongside, because a school that serves one group well and another poorly is telling you something too.

SchoolAllBlackHispanicWhiteAsian
Peachblow Crossing ElementaryOlentangy Local 90% 100% 80.8% 88.2% 93.2%
Grace L Roxbury Elementary SchoolSolon City 98.7% 100% 95% 98.9% 99.1%
McKinley STEM AcademySteubenville City 98.7% 96.7% 100%
Walnut Hills High SchoolCincinnati Public Schools 95.9% 94.8% 93.9% 96.4% 98.4%
East Woods Intermediate SchoolHudson City 89.3% 92.9% 76.7% 89.5% 94%
Orchard Middle SchoolSolon City 95.4% 91.1% 93.1% 95.9% 98.4%
Parkside Elementary SchoolSolon City 97.4% 90.7% 97.8% 100%
Shale Meadows Elementary SchoolOlentangy Local 91.6% 90% 87.5% 89.3% 94%
Pugliese Elementary WestSteubenville City 94.5% 89.5% 96.7%
Millridge Elementary SchoolMayfield City 87.7% 88.5% 84.2% 88.9% 83.3%

Flags show magnet, charter, alternative and virtual schools. Some campuses — early college and specialized academies among them — also admit by application, and this page cannot yet identify all of them. Check with the district before assuming a school is open to your address.

Where Black students are struggling most

The same measure at the other end of the range. In many of these schools every group is falling short, which points at the school rather than at the students in it.

SchoolAllBlackHispanicWhiteAsian
Summit Academy Community School - CincinnatiSummit Academy Community School - Cincinnati Charter 14.9% 0% 54.5%
Dr. O’dell Owens Center for LearningCincinnati Public Schools Sped 2.9% 0%
Natividad Pagan International Newcomers AcademyCleveland Municipal 0.8% 1.6% 0% 0%
Wilson Alternative SchoolYoungstown City 2.5% 2.1%
Sullivant Avenue Community SchoolSullivant Avenue Community School Charter 13.6% 2.1% 13.9%
Renaissance Academy dba Bessie Sherrod Price Preparatory AcaRenaissance Academy Dba Bessie Sherrod Price Preparatory Aca Charter 3.2% 2.7%
Edwin Joel Brown Middle SchoolDayton City 3.5% 2.7% 3.8% 7.9%
Empowered by the Arts AcademyEmpowered By The Arts Academy Charter 2.9% 2.9%
Chaney MiddleYoungstown City 5.9% 3.2% 8.9% 10.3%
Euclid Virtual Learning AcademyEuclid City Virtual 3.1% 3.3%

One district, two outcomes

In Cincinnati Public Schools, Walnut Hills High School reports 94.8% of Black students meeting the standard. Dr. O’dell Owens Center for Learning, in the same district, reports 0%. That is a 94.8-point spread across 58 schools under one administration, serving one community, funded by one tax base — the clearest illustration of why address matters more than it should.

Ohio districts

Districts with at least ten schools reporting Black student results, by school count. The percentage shown is the average across that district's schools for Black students.

Columbus City Schools District — 94 schools, 26.6% average
Cleveland Municipal — 64 schools, 23.9% average
Cincinnati Public Schools — 58 schools, 32.6% average
Toledo City — 45 schools, 25.2% average
Akron City — 34 schools, 30.7% average
South-Western City — 24 schools, 42.7% average
Dayton City — 21 schools, 20.3% average
Westerville City — 20 schools, 55.5% average
Olentangy Local — 17 schools, 71.3% average
Canton City — 13 schools, 27.6% average
Lorain City — 13 schools, 16.8% average
Springfield City School District — 13 schools, 23.8% average
Dublin City — 12 schools, 49.3% average
Hilliard City — 12 schools, 48.9% average
Lakota Local (Butler County) — 12 schools, 61% average
Pickerington Local — 12 schools, 62.7% average
Gahanna-Jefferson City — 10 schools, 57.4% average
Hamilton City — 10 schools, 38.5% average
Worthington City — 10 schools, 46.2% average
Cleveland Heights-University Heights City — 9 schools, 44% average
Groveport Madison Local — 9 schools, 40.7% average
Princeton City — 9 schools, 57.4% average
Reynoldsburg City — 9 schools, 43.2% average
Washington Local — 9 schools, 32.1% average
Youngstown City — 9 schools, 18% average
Fairfield City — 8 schools, 56.3% average
Lima City — 8 schools, 31.1% average
Middletown City — 8 schools, 31.1% average
Northwest Local (Hamilton County) — 8 schools, 42.7% average
Willoughby-Eastlake City — 8 schools, 43.8% average
Centerville City — 7 schools, 51.1% average
Elyria City Schools — 7 schools, 17.6% average
Euclid City — 7 schools, 30.1% average
Parma City — 7 schools, 45.9% average
Sylvania Schools — 7 schools, 50.3% average
Huber Heights City — 6 schools, 39.2% average
Kettering City School District — 6 schools, 52.6% average
Oak Hills Local — 6 schools, 57.3% average
Plain Local — 6 schools, 51.3% average
Shaker Heights City — 6 schools, 38.3% average
How these averages are calculated. The figures above average across Ohio schools, giving each school equal weight. They describe the typical school, not the state's tested population, and will differ from the headline figure Ohio State Tests 2025 publishes — that one weights every student equally, so larger schools count for more. Use the state's own published figure when citing a statewide number.

How to read the school data. Ohio suppresses results for groups with too few students tested. Schools without a reportable Black student result are excluded rather than shown as zero — 1,323 of Ohio's schools have reportable data. Coverage is grades 3–8; high schools are not included. This ranking reflects the 2024–25 Ohio State Tests administration, grades 3–8. Results are refreshed annually as new data is published. Because every state sets its own proficiency standard, Ohio's figures should not be compared directly against another state's.

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