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Cincinnati Public Schools


At a glance
609thof 773 Ohio districts▼ 13
Better than 21% of Ohio districts
2651 Burnet Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45201-2551
·(513) 363-0000·All Ohio district rankings →
Statewide performance 2018–2026
2026: better than 21.2% of districts
67
Schools
33,797
Students
3
5-star schools
Top rankedWalnut Hills High School1st of 795 Ohio high schools
▲
Biggest riser
Frederick Douglass School up 207 spots statewide this year
◉
Smallest classes
Riverview East Academy 8.2 students per teacher
✦
Newly ranked this year
Bramble School and 4 more
SchoolDigger ratings
2★
1★
0★
14 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

Cincinnati Public Schools is a large, highly varied urban district of 61 schools — 37 elementary, 5 middle, 11 high, and 8 alternative — serving students across Cincinnati and its surrounding neighborhoods. Its overall summary is weak: rank 609 of 773, 21st percentile, 1 star. That single rating, however, hides extreme internal disparity: the same district contains Ohio's No. 1 high school and many schools in the bottom 10–20% of the state. Test, graduation, and absenteeism data cover 2025-2026, spending figures are from 2018-2019, and free/reduced-lunch data are mostly blank rather than zero.

At the top, Walnut Hills High School is the statewide standout — ranked #1 in Ohio for three straight years, 5 stars, with a 99.0% graduation rate, 14.5% chronic absenteeism, and proficiency near 100% in science, government, and history. Spencer Center for Gifted and Exceptional Students is an elite alternative school with a 100% graduation rate. Strong elementary magnets include Hyde Park School, Kilgour School, Fairview-Clifton German Language School, Sands Montessori School, and the very small Bramble School, whose tiny enrollment makes its 100% scores volatile.

Weaknesses concentrate in the middle grades and most comprehensive high schools. Every traditional middle school ranks in roughly the bottom 18% of the state, and most high schools besides Walnut Hills, Spencer, SCPA, and Clark Montessori fall in the bottom quartile. District proficiency trails the state in every assessed subject, with the biggest gaps in Math 8 (24.3% vs 52.0%), Math 4, and Science 5. Chronic absenteeism averages 44.6%, reaching 97.2% at Virtual High School. The lowest-performing schools typically combine low proficiency with absenteeism above 70%.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Districts nearby

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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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