September 16, 2025—Columbus City Schools (CCS) is not only making progress on several metrics in the latest Ohio Department of Education and Workforce (ODEW) Report Card, but also operates dozens of high-performing schools. This year’s results give Columbus Alternative High School 4.5-Stars, with five schools getting 4-Stars, 10 schools getting 3.5-Stars and 25 schools getting 3-Stars, attended by a total enrollment of 17,985 students.

"We should celebrate every single one of our schools earning three or more stars,” said Superintendent/CEO of Columbus City Schools, Dr. Angela Chapman. “Each star represents the progress of our students and the belief that they can learn and grow as leaders. While we celebrate this achievement, we are not going to stop working hard to improve the entire system giving every student the services and support they need to improve attendance, literacy, mathematics, and graduation readiness.”

Despite many challenges, earning 3-Stars in the state’s complicated reporting system reflects the hard work of students, families and teachers. Moreover, these schools reflect the continued commitment to our CCS Board of Education Goals and Guardrails. These topics will be covered in more detail at the Board meeting tonight, Sept. 16, 2025. 

“At Clinton we believe that all students deserve rigorous learning opportunities and are capable of achieving mastery,” said Clinton Elementary Principal Jesse McKown, whose school earned 4 Stars. “Our teachers intentionally plan instruction with each student in mind, systematically reviewing data to provide differentiated instruction so all students feel challenged, as well as supported.”

What the Star Ratings Mean to CCS

The ODEW replaced an A through F grading system in 2022 with a 5-Star rating scale that gives different weight to a wide variety of tests, attendance and graduation rates, and metrics on specific skills at specific ages. While intended to give families a clearer understanding of district performance in key areas, the report cards do not factor in barriers to accessing instruction such as students learning English, financial needs, housing instability and inequitable school funding.

“As a large, diverse urban district, we are evaluated on the same rigorous standards as every school in Ohio, but our reality is different,” said Dr. Russ Brown, CCS Chief of the Office of Strategy and Performance. “Many of our students face significant barriers beyond the classroom, so every point of growth in literacy, math, and graduation rates reflects the extra miles of effort by our teachers, families, and students.”

Defining State Standards Schools Are Graded On

State standards are based on what students should know and be able to do at each grade level:

• Achievement: How well students perform on state tests. Schools must show students scoring at the “Proficient” level or above on state tests. Higher levels like “Accelerated” or “Advanced” earn additional points.
• Progress: How much academic growth students make each year. Schools must demonstrate that students are learning at least one full year’s worth of academic content in one school year.
• Gap Closing: How well schools support historically underserved student groups. Schools must show improvement for all student groups, including students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students.
• Early Literacy: How many K–3 students read at grade level and improve over time. At least 80% of K–3 students must meet or exceed reading benchmarks by the end of third grade for the highest ratings.
• Graduation: The percentage of students graduating on time. Schools must meet or exceed a 93% four-year graduation rate for 5-Stars, with lower thresholds for three or four stars.
• College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness: How prepared students are for life after high school. This new category is a major focus at CCS, and the District earned 3-Stars in this area.

Based on performance in each category, schools earns a rating from one to five stars:

• 5-Stars: Significantly exceeds state standards.
• 4-Stars: Exceeds state standards.
• 3-Stars: Meets state standards.
• 2-Stars: Needs support to meet state standards.
• 1-Star: Needs significant support.

“The 5-Star system does not give much grace for the reality that not all students start at the same place in their learning journey,” added Dr. Brown. “The star system is useful, but is only one tool to plan where we need to invest public resources to maintain schools where our students are thriving and double down to support teachers and students facing the biggest challenges to ensuring every child is prepared for life after high school.”

The latest data presented to the Columbus City Schools Board of Education by the Department of Strategic Performance confirms CCS is moving forward in critical areas:

• Mathematics: Since 2021-2022, third and fourth grade math scores have posted double-digit gains, with steady growth in Algebra I proficiency. 
• Early Literacy: Since 2021-2022, third and fourth grade early literacy proficiency rates have increased. Fourth grade proficiency rates in particular have increased 2.5%. The achievement in higher proficiency rates means more students reading on grade level, a key Board of Education goal. 
• Graduation Rates: CCS surpassed its annual goal with an 83% on-time graduation rate.

With these gains, CCS looks forward to keeping this momentum going and seeing the number of schools earning 3-Stars or higher increase in the coming years. 

A review of data from the State Report Card also shows that Columbus City Schools are improving at a faster rate than the schools statewide since the COVID-19 pandemic in 11 of 14 key categories.

“We are putting forward a clear vision for preparing our students for college or the careers of the future and working with local businesses and partners to improve not only the District’s scores, but also the pipeline to jobs that will help students choose their own path to thrive in the future,” Dr. Chapman concluded. “We will celebrate our progress and continue pushing for even better results in the future.”

Celebrate the CCS Schools which Achieved 3 or More Stars!