The 2024-2025 state school report cards were released by the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce (ODEW) Monday. The report rates public school districts and their schools on a scale of one to five stars based on performance in areas related to achievement on state tests, student progress, gap closure, graduation rate, and early literacy.
New this year, school districts received star ratings for college, career, workforce, and military readiness. ODEW says the new category measures how prepared students are for future opportunities after high school, including technical career fields, college, or other forms of employment.
Many Cincinnati-area school districts met or exceeded ODEW's overall benchmark of three stars, while 10 local districts far exceeded the state's standard, earning the highest rating possible.
Forest Hills, Madeira, Loveland, Mariemont, Sycamore, Wyoming, Mason, Springboro, Wayne Local, and Ross all notched five-star scores.
On the other end, six school districts — Cincinnati Public Schools, Mt. Healthy, North College Hill, Middletown, St. Bernard-Elmwood, and Winton Woods — landed below the state's standard, earning 2.5 stars or fewer.
Cincinnati Public earned 2.5 stars, the same score as last year, though the state's second-largest school district showed steady improvement in certain areas.
The four-year graduation rate for CPS went from just over 82% last year to 86% this year. The district's five-year graduation rate also improved slightly.
The district earned three stars for career readiness. ODEW says 63% of CPS students are ready to further their education or start their careers, an improvement from just over 45% last year. (Last year's rating didn't count toward the district's overall score.)
Struggles and successes
The annual report also shows CPS is still struggling with student chronic absenteeism, which remains high. According to ODEW data, more than 45% of all the district's students are considered chronically absent. Superintendent Shauna Murphy said Monday that getting students into the classroom is an issue that's holding the school system back in other academic categories.
"We believe if we had met the absenteeism indicator, we likely would've earned three stars, but I cannot say that for certain," she said.
Lockland Local Schools showed significant improvement on this year's report card. The district improved from two stars overall to three stars in a single year, and met state standards for the first time since ODEW started using the star rating system.
Lockland improved its scores in achievement, progress, and gap closing by at least one star. The state awarded the district four stars for career and college readiness, identifying nearly 83% of Lockland High School students as prepared for opportunities after graduating.
You can see how other districts performed on the Ohio Department of Education & Workforce's website.
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