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State Report Card Shows Progress While Maintaining 2 Star Rank

state report cards

State Report Card Shows Progress While Maintaining 2-Star Rank

CCS Earns 3 Stars in Preparing Students for College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness

September 16, 2025 -- While maintaining a 2-Star rank overall for performance over 113 school sites and 46,000 students, Columbus City Schools (CCS) is pleased to see a 3-Star score in the newest section of the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Report. 

“We are making progress in mathematics, we are graduating students at more than 83%, and we are keeping more kids in school by focusing on attendance, but we still have work to do, especially in literacy. I’m proud to see us rank so well in the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness component of the complicated Ohio Report Card,” said CCS Superintendent/CEO Dr. Angela Chapman. “Teachers, principals, students and parents should be proud of CCS for our 4.5-Star High School at CAHS, five 4-Star schools and ten 3.5-Star schools. CCS is competitive across the region in preparing students for the jobs of the future.”

The state of Ohio Department of Education and Workforce ranks CCS’ 82.5% four- and five-year graduation rate at 1-Star. Literacy through Third Grade earns 1-Star at 52.3%. 

“We are seeing continuous improvement in areas of the Report Card that we will report on at the next Board Meeting, and I’m excited about how this District adds more hands-on educational experiences that help students make their own choices among pathways to careers and college,” added Dr. Chapman.

This is the first year the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component measures were reported. The data tracks readiness of a graduating class from a district or building to go on to post-secondary education, enter the workforce, or join the armed forces.

This measure is calculated by dividing the number of students included in the four-year adjusted graduation rate cohort who demonstrate post-secondary readiness by the total number of students in the cohort.

Demonstration of post-secondary readiness includes a student doing at least one of the following:

  • Earn a remediation-free score in ELA, reading, and math on the ACT or SAT
  • Earn one of the six honors diplomas
  • Earn a qualifying score on three or more AP or IB exams
  • Earn 12 industry credential points in a single career field or a state-recognized license
  • Earn 12 college credits through dual enrollment, early college high school, or Career-Technical Education (CTE) courses
  • Enlist in the military
  • Complete a pre-apprenticeship
  • Get accepted into an apprenticeship post-high school
  • Complete an apprenticeship
  • Achieve proficiency on three technical assessments in a single career pathway
  • Earn the OhioMeansJobs Seal and complete 250 hours of internship or work-based learning

Participation in the District’s 40 CTE programs, one-way juniors and seniors can earn CTE accreditation, more than doubled in recent years, rising from 5,000 students in 2023 to more than 11,500 in the 2024-2025 year. Graduation rates support the program’s impact, with CTE students graduating last year at a rate of 95.9%.

While great attention is paid to State testing reports, the District works each year to address the Columbus City Schools Board of Education’s Goals:

  • improving early literacy 
  • advancing mathematics achievement
  • raising graduation rates

Graduation rates remain above Board goals in the latest report, and Mathematics achievement improved significantly over the past year, as reported last week.