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A+ Arts Academy

Public, Charter Grades K-8
1514th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,558 Ohio Elementary Schools
Better than 3% of Ohio elementary schools
Summary

A+ Arts Academy is a public charter elementary school serving 366 students in grades K-8 in Columbus, Ohio, a relatively low-performing school district. The school has consistently received a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very poor performance compared to other Ohio elementary schools.

A+ Arts Academy struggles across multiple key metrics. The school has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 37.8% to 80.3% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average and nearby schools. Student performance on state assessments is also very low, with the percentage of students proficient or better well below state averages, often less than half. For example, in 2024-2025, only 8% of 5th graders were proficient in science compared to the state average of 63.4%. The school also ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Ohio elementary schools for African American, low-socioeconomic, and disabled student performance.

While A+ Arts Academy has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, the school appears to be underfunded compared to nearby public schools, spending only $5,700 per student versus $9,030 - $13,297 spent by schools like South Columbus Preparatory Academy, Cassingham Elementary, and Ohio Avenue Elementary. These nearby schools generally outperform A+ Arts Academy across the board, with higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism, and better support for student subgroups.

247
Students ?
8.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$1,610
Per pupil spending ?
40.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1395 Fair Ave
       Columbus, OH  43205-1543

(614) 725-1305

District: A+ Arts Academy

Racial breakdown:

African American:
84.2%
Two or more races:
6.5%
Hispanic:
5.7%
more
 See top rated Ohio elementary schools

 Compare A+ Arts Academy to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → 3rd in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 9 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Ohio average (9% vs 59% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 18 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school9%
Ohio avg59%
Elementary school
1,514th of 1,558
Ohio public elementary schools ?
Bottom 3%▼ down 18 pts since 2015
From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 3% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Ohio Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,025th of 1,036
Ohio public middle schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 25 pts since 2015
From bottom 26% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Ohio Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
813th of 828A+ Arts Academy among Ohio districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20254.21514 of 15582.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.01493 of 15775.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.91505 of 15965.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.21523 of 15884.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.01539 of 16104.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20194.61603 of 16764.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.41553 of 16365.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20176.61540 of 16516.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201616.51401 of 167816.5%★☆☆☆☆
201525.21327 of 168421.2%★☆☆☆☆
201420.91398 of 168717.1%★☆☆☆☆
201335.41275 of 170125.0%★☆☆☆☆
201255.31027 of 170939.9%★★☆☆☆
201137.51249 of 168625.9%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202513.2581 of 6155.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.0517 of 60314.3%★☆☆☆☆
202317.6536 of 61012.1%★☆☆☆☆
202219.5515 of 60114.3%★☆☆☆☆
202118.3487 of 5338.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.2534 of 60511.7%★☆☆☆☆
201823.1498 of 59816.7%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
201916.7879 of 9568.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.5976 of 10214.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20254.21407 of 14523.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.31433 of 14662.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.71467 of 14831.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20223.41459 of 14881.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20212.51462 of 14670.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.41457 of 15023.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20183.91473 of 15183.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20254.31439 of 14732.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.41410 of 14845.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20236.21379 of 14474.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20226.61348 of 14195.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.91363 of 14042.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.81407 of 14654.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.31400 of 14654.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20256.31384 of 14665.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.21346 of 14859.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20236.21406 of 14986.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.31431 of 15185.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.11404 of 14996.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20193.61499 of 15352.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.51467 of 15364.5%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20253.81025 of 10361.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20244.71022 of 10462.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.11033 of 10481.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.8940 of 10177.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202112.1878 of 103715.3%★☆☆☆☆
201919.2820 of 105021.9%★☆☆☆☆
201821.1786 of 101022.2%★☆☆☆☆
201716.8826 of 103820.4%★☆☆☆☆
201625.5778 of 105025.9%★☆☆☆☆
201528.7766 of 103526.0%★☆☆☆☆
201430.6774 of 100823.2%★☆☆☆☆
201323.3817 of 100118.4%★☆☆☆☆
201236.8739 of 98925.3%★☆☆☆☆
201155.6564 of 92539.0%★★☆☆☆
201045.5639 of 89528.6%★☆☆☆☆
200927.8686 of 85820.0%★☆☆☆☆
200838.2628 of 83524.8%★☆☆☆☆
200727.3672 of 83719.7%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202414.9399 of 4297.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.6415 of 4364.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202218.7352 of 41314.8%★☆☆☆☆
202130.8245 of 38536.4%★★☆☆☆
201947.0199 of 40550.9%★★★☆☆
201847.7179 of 38453.4%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
201913.3628 of 6584.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20243.4925 of 9421.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.3935 of 9430.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20222.6917 of 9250.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.1789 of 91013.3%★☆☆☆☆
201925.0710 of 91722.6%★☆☆☆☆
201821.4714 of 89720.4%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20245.1961 of 9892.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.7962 of 9741.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.8890 of 9476.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202113.8785 of 92315.0%★☆☆☆☆
201924.5741 of 94521.6%★☆☆☆☆
201827.0717 of 92422.4%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20235.5911 of 9635.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.4821 of 94613.2%★☆☆☆☆
20219.4815 of 92411.8%★☆☆☆☆
20199.7840 of 93310.0%★☆☆☆☆
201814.8771 of 91615.8%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
Disabled (2019)8th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2025)6th percentile+3 vs school
African American (2025)6th percentile+3 vs school
Female (2025)3rd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Middle school
African American (2024)7th percentile+5 vs school
Male (2023)5th percentile+4 vs school
Disabled (2019)5th percentile-17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2024)3rd percentile~ school
Female (2024)2nd percentile~ school
By subject vs Ohio (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts12%-48 vs state
Mathematics7%-50 vs state
Science4%-59 vs state

1.3
3 ratings · 3 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Open Quote My daughter is currently a student at A+ Arts Academy and after this year she will not be back. I feel the principal Mr. Harrison is more concerned with "throwing his weight around" than the best interest of my child or ant other. The teachers are giving 3rd and 4th grade work to my 5th grader, they NEVER have homework other than work done in class, most of the teachers don't care anything about the children as you get no calls about how they are doing etc. But are more than happy to have plenty of excuses on how many children they have in their classroom so they can not send a simple note on DOJO. Everytime you turn around the school is planning something for the children then cancelling it or postponing it i.e, basketball practice, dance, cheerleading and the principal always has an excuse on why this is the case. Dress down days are more frequent and the children have to pay $1, which is fine, but where is the money going? They don't have books, and if they do they have to stay in the classroom or are shared. Since when don't kids have books? The work that is done in class is mostly xeroxed copies, or printed copies of something the teacher got off line or from a workbook he/she has. It's absolutely RIDICULOUS!! Then they wonder why these kids don't pay attention, THERE BORED!! My daughter does very well in school but she's not challenged. She will not attend this school after this year and I definitely would not recommend it to anyone else. I will say, however, a select few teachers are great..but I can count them on about 3 fingers. Close Quote


by a teacher
Monday, August 13, 2018

Open Quote Staff is uneducated and under educated. Students are being denied an education at this school. Close Quote


by a parent
Thursday, July 7, 2016

Open Quote My children spent two school years at A+ Arts Academy on Fair Ave. After this second year I have decided to pull their registration and look for another school. I feel as a parent I have failed my students, they both are honor roll students with good test scores so I assumed that they were receiving the best educational experience that a public school had to offer and boy was I wrong. At the end of the school year I received the test scores from my daughters state testing which showed that she was above average but was only slightly higher than her scores she received the year prior. This tells me that for a whole school year my daughter learned absolutely nothing new. And to confirm that I took my children to another school that is rated number 7 in the state based off of testing scores and though they excelled in reading and language arts ( something they were doing prior to A+) they didn't meet average in math scores. I am truly disappointed because I believed in A+. Moving beyond testing scores the Fair Ave school is in utter chaos and when parents come to the school with valid concerns(child safety, bullying, issues with staff) the principal Mr.Faulks is very condescending and disrespectful he absolutely doesn't care about the well -being of your child. Furthermore he treats the parents as if we are all under educated garbage. I have two degrees and am a working professional and if I treated any of my clients the way that he is allowed ( I say this because administration is aware of his behavior) to treat parents and students I would be UNEMPLOYED. I am not leaving this review to trash this school they are doing a fine job at doing so themselves. I am leaving this review so that other parents who want more for their children will be aware the A+ does not mean more but less. For those teachers that are excellent educators I feel for you and wish that find a position in a school that appreciates your thirst for teaching and your collective talents. I thank you (Mr.Bell, Dr.Samuels, Mr.Drew, Mr.King,Mrs. Teriaga) you are wonderful and A+ doesn't deserve you Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about A+ Arts Academy

In the 2024-25 school year, 247 students attended A+ Arts Academy.

Students at A+ Arts Academy are 84% African American, 6% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic, 2% White.

A+ Arts Academy ranks in the bottom 2.8% of Ohio elementary schools.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Ohio Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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