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Hughes STEM High School

Public Grades 9-12
700th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 795 Ohio High Schools
Better than 12% of Ohio high schools
Summary

Hughes STEM High School is a 9–12 comprehensive high school at 2515 Clifton Ave in Cincinnati, serving 1,167 students as part of Cincinnati Public Schools — one of the larger comprehensive high schools in the district, alongside Withrow University High School and Walnut Hills High School.

Hughes' clearest strength is graduation: 93.4% of students earned a diploma in 2025–26, the highest rate of any open-enrollment Cincinnati Public Schools high school in this comparison and 12.8 points above the district's 80.6%. Only selective Walnut Hills (99.0%) and suburban St Bernard-Elmwood Place Junior/Senior High School (98.6%) did better. The counterweight is attendance. Chronic absenteeism reached 69.2% — nearly seven in ten students — up from 55.0% three years earlier, and far above same-district James N. Gamble Montessori High School (37.8%), Gilbert A. Dater High School (55.6%) and the district's 44.6%. Graduation is rising while attendance is falling.

Test results tell a similar story of completing school without reaching grade-level proficiency. In 2025–26, 40.3% of Hughes students were proficient in English II and 26.1% in Algebra I — trailing the district in every subject and the state by 15 to 36 points, with a statewide rank of 700 of 795. Within Cincinnati Public Schools, English II is a relative bright spot and Geometry second, while Algebra I sits near the bottom. Nearby Norwood High School, in Norwood City, outperforms Hughes in every subject, and Walnut Hills — the top-ranked high school in Ohio, roughly three miles away in the same district — shows how wide the district's internal spread is. Notably, Hughes spends $10,197 per student, more than several close peers, so resources alone do not explain the gap.

1,167
Students ?
16.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$12,988
Per pupil spending ?
0%
Free/discounted lunch ?
Racial breakdown:

African American:
83.1%
Two or more races:
6.9%
Hispanic:
4.9%
more
 See top rated Ohio high schools

 Compare Hughes STEM High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2016 → 12th in 2026
Strengths
✓93% graduate within 4 years
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Ohio average (38% vs 63% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)
!Algebra I scores 35 pts below the Ohio average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school38%
District avg52%
Ohio avg63%
700th of 795
Ohio public high schools ?
Bottom 12%▲ up 4 pts since 2016
From bottom 8% (2016) to bottom 12% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Ohio High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
7th of 12High Schools in the Cincinnati Public Schools
609th of 773Cincinnati 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)
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20255.5994 of 10364.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.0939 of 104610.2%★☆☆☆☆
202311.1905 of 104813.6%★☆☆☆☆
20229.3910 of 101710.5%★☆☆☆☆
202113.7849 of 103718.1%★☆☆☆☆
201910.8916 of 105012.8%★☆☆☆☆
20186.6939 of 10107.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20176.7962 of 10387.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20166.6983 of 10506.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201515.9872 of 103515.7%★☆☆☆☆
201411.2882 of 100812.5%★☆☆☆☆
20134.3952 of 10014.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20125.3926 of 9896.4%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202513.8412 of 4426.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.8351 of 42918.2%★☆☆☆☆
202327.3312 of 43628.4%★☆☆☆☆
202224.1313 of 41324.2%★☆☆☆☆
202130.9243 of 38536.9%★★☆☆☆
201929.2292 of 40527.9%★☆☆☆☆
201821.9321 of 38416.4%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202140.7296 of 57648.6%★★☆☆☆
201930.7493 of 65825.1%★☆☆☆☆
201815.4614 of 6434.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20253.5916 of 9382.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.2878 of 9426.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.2861 of 9438.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.7830 of 92510.3%★☆☆☆☆
20218.4819 of 91010.0%★☆☆☆☆
20197.6841 of 9178.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.2846 of 8975.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
201922.220 of 2313.0%★☆☆☆☆
201816.020 of 214.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20254.7959 of 9832.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.2909 of 9898.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.2852 of 97412.5%★☆☆☆☆
202210.5852 of 94710.0%★☆☆☆☆
202114.9772 of 92316.4%★☆☆☆☆
201912.7837 of 94511.4%★☆☆☆☆
20187.7868 of 9246.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20253.7937 of 9541.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.0904 of 9585.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.5838 of 96313.0%★☆☆☆☆
20224.1929 of 9461.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.6811 of 92412.2%★☆☆☆☆
20198.7852 of 9338.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.0892 of 9162.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202417.9534 of 5635.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202330.2428 of 59027.5%★☆☆☆☆
High school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20269.9700 of 79511.9%★☆☆☆☆
202515.3707 of 85517.3%★☆☆☆☆
202418.7675 of 86421.9%★☆☆☆☆
202314.7699 of 86719.4%★☆☆☆☆
202216.8676 of 83619.1%★☆☆☆☆
202118.3662 of 81919.2%★☆☆☆☆
201920.2667 of 83620.2%★☆☆☆☆
201817.5666 of 80016.8%★☆☆☆☆
201714.5662 of 77314.4%★☆☆☆☆
20169.4721 of 7848.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20155.0735 of 7785.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20147.1726 of 7695.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201317.8687 of 76710.4%★☆☆☆☆
201233.2678 of 83218.5%★☆☆☆☆
201130.1682 of 81816.6%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202627.9218 of 29626.4%★☆☆☆☆
202534.2204 of 32837.8%★★☆☆☆
202437.7188 of 31840.9%★★☆☆☆
202333.7193 of 32340.2%★★☆☆☆
202235.9186 of 30639.2%★★☆☆☆
202148.3125 of 28456.0%★★★☆☆
201941.7180 of 30340.6%★★☆☆☆
201824.4207 of 27925.8%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202233.4383 of 60636.8%★★☆☆☆
202129.8433 of 59627.3%★☆☆☆☆
201934.2423 of 62832.6%★★☆☆☆
201818.4489 of 55011.1%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202628.299 of 13526.7%★☆☆☆☆
202530.591 of 12828.9%★★☆☆☆
202448.945 of 11159.5%★★★☆☆
202243.752 of 11153.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20268.5696 of 7638.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.1682 of 80915.7%★☆☆☆☆
202417.0659 of 79817.4%★☆☆☆☆
20239.1711 of 81312.5%★☆☆☆☆
202212.5677 of 79414.7%★☆☆☆☆
202114.0662 of 77514.6%★☆☆☆☆
201920.8652 of 78116.5%★☆☆☆☆
20184.5696 of 7517.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Foster Care

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202424.912 of 1520.0%★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
20263.0278 of 2831.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20252.1238 of 2442.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.2275 of 2801.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20231.3305 of 3081.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.1305 of 3122.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202624.8214 of 27221.3%★☆☆☆☆
202534.6196 of 27027.4%★☆☆☆☆
202428.2207 of 27324.2%★☆☆☆☆
202338.0179 of 27033.7%★★☆☆☆
202218.2219 of 26015.8%★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202637.720 of 2828.6%★★☆☆☆
202525.927 of 3727.0%★★☆☆☆
202446.413 of 3056.7%★★★☆☆
202354.011 of 3063.3%★★★☆☆
202212.723 of 244.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201963.39 of 3271.9%★★★★☆
201830.820 of 2828.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202613.6669 of 76112.1%★☆☆☆☆
202519.1670 of 81517.8%★☆☆☆☆
202423.5643 of 82221.8%★☆☆☆☆
202320.0650 of 80519.3%★☆☆☆☆
202222.9617 of 77320.2%★☆☆☆☆
202128.6592 of 76322.4%★☆☆☆☆
201929.9615 of 77921.1%★☆☆☆☆
201810.2674 of 75811.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202610.7685 of 76510.5%★☆☆☆☆
202514.3682 of 81716.5%★☆☆☆☆
202415.7673 of 81617.5%★☆☆☆☆
202315.5679 of 81917.1%★☆☆☆☆
202216.8666 of 80817.6%★☆☆☆☆
202117.3653 of 77816.1%★☆☆☆☆
201919.4655 of 79217.3%★☆☆☆☆
20184.6712 of 7636.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202632.5178 of 24025.8%★☆☆☆☆
202540.4166 of 25434.6%★★☆☆☆
20245.8232 of 2424.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.6236 of 2391.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.8198 of 2011.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202625.6473 of 57517.7%★☆☆☆☆
202528.0468 of 61724.1%★☆☆☆☆
202432.0400 of 59833.1%★★☆☆☆
202326.2475 of 61422.6%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202643.3459 of 70935.3%★★☆☆☆
202513.5653 of 74812.7%★☆☆☆☆
202411.3673 of 75410.7%★☆☆☆☆
202312.1671 of 75611.2%★☆☆☆☆
202216.1645 of 74913.9%★☆☆☆☆
201957.4347 of 73953.0%★★★☆☆
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)
Middle school
Disabled (2021)49th percentile+30 vs school
Homeless (2019)13th percentile~ school
African American (2025)7th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2024)5th percentile-5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Female (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school
High school
Disabled (2022)37th percentile+18 vs school
White (2026)35th percentile+23 vs school
Homeless (2026)29th percentile+17 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)27th percentile+15 vs school
African American (2026)26th percentile+14 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)26th percentile+14 vs school
Hispanic (2026)21st percentile+9 vs school
Foster Care (2024)20th percentile~ school
Special Education (2026)18th percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)12th percentile~ school
Male (2026)10th percentile~ school
Female (2026)9th percentile-3 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2026)2nd percentile-10 vs school
By subject vs Ohio (2025-2026) ?
American Government56%-16 vs state
American History52%-21 vs state
English II40%-22 vs state
Biology32%-35 vs state
Algebra I26%-35 vs state
Geometry22%-22 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Hughes STEM High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,167 students attended Hughes STEM High School.

Students at Hughes STEM High School are 83% African American, 7% Two or more races, 5% Hispanic, 4% White.

Hughes STEM High School ranks in the bottom 11.9% of Ohio high schools.

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Latest Ohio data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewSep 15, 2026
2025–26 Ohio State Tests scoresNewSep 15, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataJan 6, 2026
2024–25 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 17, 2025


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.

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