Clay Local

Clay Local is a small district in Portsmouth, Ohio, serving roughly 605 students across three schools — one elementary (PK–5), one middle (6–8), and one high school (9–12) — all sharing a single address on Clay High Street, and rated 2 stars as a district with a rank of 438th out of 773 statewide.

The three schools tell very different stories. Clay Elementary School is the strongest overall: 3 stars, 57th percentile, and math results well above the state, including 3rd-grade math at 80.0 vs. 62.1 and 4th-grade math at 83.0 vs. 67.3. Its weak spot is 3rd-grade ELA at 58.5 vs. 63.4 statewide. Clay High School has the clearest momentum, climbing from the 35th to the 45th percentile, with American History at 89.2 vs. 73.2 and a 100% graduation rate. Still, Geometry (36.8 vs. 43.3) and Biology (63.2 vs. 67.0) remain below state, and chronic absenteeism of 30.5% is the district's highest. Clay Middle School is the biggest concern, falling from the 60th to the 43rd percentile, with 6th-grade ELA at 30.2 vs. 56.0 and 6th-grade math at 39.5 vs. 56.2 — the largest gaps in the data.

Context matters here. Free and reduced lunch rates top 60% at all three schools, yet elementary math and high school history still beat state averages by wide margins. Attendance and achievement don't move in lockstep — the high school has the worst absenteeism but the best graduation outcome. And since the middle and high schools each enroll only about 134–145 students, a single year's swing can look dramatic; patterns across years are more meaningful than one year's numbers. Overall, Clay Local blends a strong elementary, an improving high school, and a middle school that needs significant academic support.