Summary:
North Central Local is a small Ohio district with just two schools — North Central Elementary School serving grades PK–6 and North Central Junior/High School serving grades 7–12 — enrolling 516 students combined, with no middle school or alternative school. The district ranks 465th of 773 Ohio districts, at the 40th percentile with 2 stars.
The junior/high school (208 students) is strong on end-of-course exams and improving overall. American Government is at 84.6% proficient versus 71.6% statewide, American History at 81.8% versus 73.2%, English II at 71.9% versus 62.7%, and Biology, Algebra I, and Geometry are all at or above state levels. Its graduation rate is 97.1%, its student-to-teacher ratio is 9.9, and it climbed from 40th percentile with 2 stars in 2023–24 to 56th percentile with 3 stars in 2025–26. The clear weak spot is the middle grades: 8th grade math sits at 6.7% proficient versus 52.0% statewide, 8th grade ELA at 33.3% versus 58.3%, 7th grade ELA at 43.8% versus 62.7%, and 7th grade math at 40.6% versus 48.6%. Chronic absenteeism is 23.9%, above the district's 18.8%, and 98.56% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch.
The elementary school (308 students) performs near the state average overall and has the district's lower absenteeism rate at 15.2%. Strengths include 4th grade math at 76.3% versus 67.3% statewide, 5th grade ELA at 77.8% versus 70.4%, 4th grade ELA at 71.1% versus 61.8%, and 3rd grade math and ELA both at 65.9%. Its weak spots are 6th grade ELA at 33.3% versus 56.0%, 5th grade math at 50.0% versus 59.1%, and 5th grade science at 58.3% versus 62.7%. Its rank slipped from 57th percentile with 3 stars to 50th percentile with 2 stars, and its free/reduced-lunch rate is not reported. Per-student spending is $11,053 versus $10,726 at the junior/high school, though those figures date to 2018–19. With small grade cohorts, percentages can swing sharply from year to year.
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