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William H Taft Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-7

1206^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,558 Ohio Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of Ohio elementary schools

Summary

William H Taft Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-6 in Cincinnati, Ohio, with 246 students. The school is part of the Cincinnati Public Schools district, which is ranked 596 out of 828 districts in Ohio and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite spending more per student than the state average, William H Taft Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Ohio elementary schools over the past 10 years, with a 1-star or 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school struggles with very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 43.5% to 56.5% in recent years, and significantly below-average proficiency rates on state tests across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in 2024-2025 projected data, the school's 5th grade science proficiency rate was 28.6% compared to 63.4% statewide, and its 6th grade ELA proficiency rate was 23.7% compared to 54.5% statewide.

Compared to nearby schools in the Cincinnati Public Schools district, William H Taft Elementary generally performs worse across the board. Rockdale Academy, South Avondale School, and Evanston Academy all have higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates than William H Taft. Even George Hays-Jennie Porter School, which is also in the bottom quarter of Ohio schools, outperforms William H Taft on most metrics. The data indicates that William H Taft Elementary is one of the lowest-performing schools not just in its district, but in the entire state of Ohio.

234

Students ?

12.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,661

Per pupil spending ?

99%

Free/discounted lunch ?

270 Southern Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45219-3023

(513) 363-5600

District: Cincinnati Public Schools

Students who attend William H Taft Elementary School usually attend:

High:	Clark Montessori High School
	Gilbert A. Dater High School
	Hughes STEM High School
	James N. Gamble Montessori High School
	More...
	Walnut Hills High School
	Western Hills University High School
	Withrow University High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

82.1%

Two or more races:

8.1%

White:

6.0%

See top rated Ohio elementary schools

Compare William H Taft Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 6th percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Ohio average (37% vs 61% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school37%

District avg45%

Ohio avg61%

1,206^th of 1,558

Ohio public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 16 pts since 2015

From bottom 6% (2015) to bottom 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Ohio Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

23^rd of 38Elementary Schools in the Cincinnati Public Schools

596^th of 828Cincinnati Public Schools among Ohio districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	23.6	1206 of 1558	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.6	1392 of 1577	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.0	1411 of 1596	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	7.0	1474 of 1588	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.3	1497 of 1610	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.6	1270 of 1676	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	48.3	1008 of 1636	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2017	29.9	1227 of 1651	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	18.9	1357 of 1678	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	7.1	1576 of 1684	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	5.0	1601 of 1687	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	3.2	1638 of 1701	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	7.5	1590 of 1709	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	5.2	1606 of 1686	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	2.0	1631 of 1662	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	0.2	1610 of 1610	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	0.7	1576 of 1582	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	5.2	1534 of 1609	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	2.9	1457 of 1504	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	1.2	1488 of 1501	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2004	0.5	1461 of 1471	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	45.8	304 of 615	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	33.8	386 of 603	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.6	428 of 610	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.7	476 of 601	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.3	416 of 533	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	41.5	350 of 605	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	74.4	118 of 598	80.3%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2022	20.9	720 of 824	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.8	566 of 765	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	46.0	475 of 956	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	76.7	149 of 1021	85.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	25.2	1102 of 1452	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.2	1139 of 1466	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.9	1292 of 1483	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	11.9	1280 of 1488	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	4.3	1422 of 1467	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.6	1182 of 1502	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.8	1099 of 1518	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	27.8	1122 of 1473	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	1312 of 1484	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	1258 of 1447	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.2	1310 of 1419	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.2	1289 of 1404	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.5	1191 of 1465	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	57.9	701 of 1465	52.2%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	19.3	1191 of 1466	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.0	1385 of 1485	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.3	1340 of 1498	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	4.1	1463 of 1518	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.7	1383 of 1499	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.9	1250 of 1535	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	55.2	823 of 1536	46.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Ohio percentile	Rating
2025	13.1	902 of 935	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	873 of 900	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.4	785 of 856	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)51st percentile+28 vs school

Female (2025)24th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile~ school

Male (2025)19th percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2022)13th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2025)4th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Ohio (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts38%-23 vs state

Mathematics38%-23 vs state

Science29%-35 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 1 written review

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, August 21, 2017

Treated terrible by staff. My son was refused his lunch on the first day. I was misinformed by his teacher and the board of education multiple times. Very unorganized and rude staff. Close Quote

Schools Near William H Taft Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				Ohio State Tests Science (2025)		Ohio State Tests Mathematics (2025)						Ohio State Tests English Language Arts (2025)						Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	Ohio State Tests Science 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests Science 8th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 3rd Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 4th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 6th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 7th Grade	Ohio State Tests Mathematics 8th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 3rd Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 4th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 5th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 6th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 7th Grade	Ohio State Tests English Language Arts 8th Grade	Total
William H Taft Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-7	270 Southern Ave	Cincinnati	45219	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-5600	234	19	12.2		14 (6.0%)	192 (82.1%)	8 (3.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (8.1%)	23.6	1206^th of 1558 public elementary schools	22.6%		10.6	1392^nd of 1577 public elementary schools	11.7%	186	28.6		63.3	24.1	32.1	31.6			66.7	31.0	32.1	23.7			$13,661
Rothenberg Preparatory Academy	Public	PK, KG-6	241 E Clifton Ave	Cincinnati	45202	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-5700	332	23	14.5		6 (1.8%)	305 (91.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)	12.9	1356^th of 1558 public elementary schools	13.0%		6.2	1488^th of 1577 public elementary schools	5.6%	132	12.5		29.2	19.4	4.9	6.8			66.7	41.9	26.8	9.3			$13,425
Dampe Community School	Public, Charter	K-8	2615 Melrose Ave	Cincinnati	45206	Hamilton County	Dampe Community School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 304-8210	190	14	13.5		0 (0.0%)	189 (99.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	2.1	1547^th of 1558 public elementary schools	0.7%		1.8	1575^th of 1577 public elementary schools	0.1%	28	7.7	0.0		0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	20.0	0.0	16.7	7.1	0.0	0.0	$10,136
Frederick Douglass School	Public	PK, KG-6	2627 Park Ave	Cincinnati	45206	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-1900	229	21	11.0		9 (3.9%)	195 (85.2%)	3 (1.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (9.2%)	11	1386^th of 1558 public elementary schools	11.0%		9.1	1423^rd of 1577 public elementary schools	9.8%	37	34.8		15.2	17.6	17.4	3.8			45.5	29.4	47.8	11.5			$14,408
George Hays-Jennie Porter School	Public	PK, KG-6	1030 Cutter St	Cincinnati	45203	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-1000	263	19	14.0		3 (1.1%)	249 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.8%)	50.6	888^th of 1558 public elementary schools	43.0%		40.7	1030^th of 1577 public elementary schools	34.7%	142	37.0		45.7	64.5	48.1	61.3			91.4	64.5	66.7	41.9			$14,491
Rockdale Academy	Public	PK, KG-6	335 Rockdale Ave	Cincinnati	45229	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-4700	225	17	12.9		13 (5.8%)	194 (86.2%)	4 (1.8%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.3%)	15.5	1322^nd of 1558 public elementary schools	15.1%		8.2	1447^th of 1577 public elementary schools	8.2%	125	50.0		7.7	9.1	38.5	26.9			19.2	27.3	46.2	26.9			$13,007
South Avondale School	Public	PK, KG-6	636 Prospect Pl	Cincinnati	45229	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-5500	359	23	15.6		13 (3.6%)	323 (90.0%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	10.6	1396^th of 1558 public elementary schools	10.4%		6.9	1472^nd of 1577 public elementary schools	6.7%	76	9.8		14.6	59.5	14.3	23.1			14.6	23.8	33.3	17.9			$13,471
ReGeneration Schools Avondale Elementary	Public, Charter	K-4	3595 Washington Ave	Cincinnati	45229	Hamilton County	ReGeneration Schools Avondale Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 351-5801	146	7	20.8		3 (2.1%)	138 (94.5%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	6.2	1473^rd of 1558 public elementary schools	5.5%		3	1552^nd of 1577 public elementary schools	1.6%	79			30.4	38.9					4.3	11.1					$19,020
Evanston Academy	Public	PK, KG-6	1835 Fairfax Ave	Cincinnati	45207	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(513) 363-2700	248	23	10.9		8 (3.2%)	222 (89.5%)	6 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	11 (4.4%)	32	1101^st of 1558 public elementary schools	29.3%		28.7	1153^rd of 1577 public elementary schools	26.9%	52	36.7		63.6	30.0	30.0	33.3			55.9	40.0	36.7	72.7			$12,926
Fairview-Clifton German Language School	Public	K-6	3689 Clifton Ave	Cincinnati	45220	Hamilton County	Cincinnati Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(513) 363-2100	657	41	15.8		225 (34.2%)	352 (53.6%)	4 (0.6%)	13 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	62 (9.4%)	70.4	526^th of 1558 public elementary schools	66.2%		76.9	391^st of 1577 public elementary schools	75.2%	135	75.0		82.1	69.2	76.9	44.7	100.0		72.2	80.2	85.0	50.6			$15,647

Frequently Asked Questions about William H Taft Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of William H Taft Elementary School?

Students at William H Taft Elementary School are 82% African American, 8% Two or more races, 6% White, 3% Hispanic.

What district is William H Taft Elementary School in?

Cincinnati Public Schools

How many students attend William H Taft Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 234 students attended William H Taft Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of William H Taft Elementary School attend?

Students who attend William H Taft Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Clark Montessori High School
High : Gilbert A. Dater High School
High : Hughes STEM High School
High : James N. Gamble Montessori High School
High : Walnut Hills High School
High : Western Hills University High School
High : Withrow University High School

Is William H Taft Elementary School a good school?

William H Taft Elementary School ranks in the bottom 22.6% of Ohio elementary schools.

Rate William H Taft Elementary School!

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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.