Summary:
Cardinal Local is a two-school Ohio district: one elementary school serving grades K–6 and one junior/senior high school serving grades 6–12, together enrolling roughly 727 students — a figure that double-counts grade 6, because both schools include it in their grade spans. The district overall ranks 347 of 773 Ohio districts, at the 55th percentile with 3 stars, placing it solidly in the middle of the state. Families should read the two enrollment numbers as overlapping rather than separate.
The standout is Cardinal Junior/Senior High School, which ranks 183 of 795 schools — the 77th percentile with 4 stars — up sharply from 2 stars and the 47th percentile two years earlier. Its graduation rate is 96.6%, and all six End-of-Course subjects beat the state: Biology 89.6% vs. 67.0%, American History 86.5% vs. 73.2%, American Government 81.8% vs. 71.6%, Algebra I 72.5% vs. 61.6%, English II 71.8% vs. 62.7%, and Geometry 59.2% vs. 43.3%. The clear weak spot is the middle grades: 7th-grade math is 26.3% against a state figure of 48.6%, and 7th- and 8th-grade ELA also trail the state. Chronic absenteeism is 22.3%, above the district's 19.1%.
Cardinal Elementary School is steady, holding around the 52nd percentile with 3 stars in each of the past three years. Its strengths are the early grades: 3rd-grade math 76.9% vs. 62.1% state, 4th-grade math 73.6% vs. 67.3%, and 3rd-grade ELA 69.2% vs. 63.4%. Its soft spots are 5th-grade math (49.0% vs. 59.1%), 5th-grade science (57.1% vs. 62.7%), and 6th-grade ELA (54.2% vs. 56.0%). Absenteeism is 16.7%, below the district rate. In short, this is a district with a rising, above-average high school, but the middle-grade math and reading pipeline is where attention is most needed.
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