Evanston Junior High School

Evanston Junior High School is a small Cincinnati Public Schools middle school serving 248 students in grades 4–8 on Fairfax Avenue in Cincinnati's Evanston neighborhood. In 2025–2026 it ranked 888th of 1,046 Ohio middle schools — the 15th percentile, or 1 star — which places it below its own district's standing. Its most distinctive feature is class size: a 10.9-to-1 student-teacher ratio, the smallest in this comparison group, funded at $9,598 per student (2018–19), less than nearby CPS middle schools.

The headline concern is attendance. In 2025–26, 67.5% of Evanston students were chronically absent — roughly two of every three — a 15-point jump in a single year and 22.9 points above the district rate, which actually improved slightly. Test scores from that same year were below district and state in every subject and grade tested: 7th grade math 14.9% (33.7 points below state), 8th grade math 20.0%, and 8th grade science 25.2%. Reading is the relative strength — 7th grade ELA at 36.4% is the highest among CPS middle schools in this comparison set — while math is the deepest gap. Gifted and talented students ranked 183rd of 186 Ohio schools with a comparable cohort, and special education students ranked at the 19th percentile.

Compared with neighbors, Evanston outperforms the closest school, South Avondale Middle School (1.35 miles away, 7th percentile), and edges Ethel M. Taylor Junior High School, Shroder Middle School, North College Hill Middle School, and ReGeneration Middle School. Norwood Middle School, 1.97 miles away, is the most instructive contrast: it ranks at the 42nd percentile with lower per-student spending and larger classes. The three 5-star suburban schools — Mariemont Junior High School, Madeira Middle School, and Wyoming Middle School — share 5%–10.5% chronic absenteeism. Note that Evanston's tested grades shifted between years, and small cohorts make percentages swing widely, so year-to-year comparisons should be read cautiously.