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Paul L Dunbar Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1088th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,560 Ohio Elementary Schools
Better than 30% of Ohio elementary schools
Summary

Paul L Dunbar Elementary School is a PK–8 school in the Cleveland Municipal district, located at 2159 West 29th St in Cleveland's near-west side and serving 384 students, making it one of the smaller PK–8 buildings in its immediate neighborhood. For 2025–2026 it ranks 1,088th of 1,560 Ohio elementary and middle schools — the 30th percentile and 2 stars, its best showing since 2018–19 and a step up from a mid-20s plateau the four prior years.

Math is the school's clear strength. Averaged across the reported grade levels, math sits near 65% — above the state and far above the district — while English language arts averages near 50%, roughly 12 points behind the state. Seventh- and eighth-grade math are the standout: about 86% and 84% this year, following three straight years at high levels, and Dunbar leads every nearby same-district school in both, including Clark School and Buhrer, even though those two rank higher overall. Sixth-grade ELA remains the persistent weak spot, the one measure where the school falls below its own district.

Attendance is the biggest concern. Chronic absenteeism jumped to 57.8% in 2025–26, up about 11 points, now above the district rate and the highest among the eight nearby same-district PK–8 schools — Clark and Buhrer, with similar proficiency results, sit near 27%. Meanwhile, the school's subgroup results often outpace its overall rank: special education students reached the 82nd percentile (4 stars), Hispanic students the 71st, and African American students the 52nd, all well above the school's 30th-percentile overall position. The takeaway for families: real instructional strength, especially in upper-grade math, paired with an attendance challenge worth asking about.

384
Students ?
16.6
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,356
Per pupil spending ?
51.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2159 West 29th
       Cleveland, OH  44113

(216) 838-7400

District: Cleveland Municipal

Racial breakdown:

African American:
56.5%
Hispanic:
25.0%
White:
13.5%
more
 See top rated Ohio elementary schools

 Compare Paul L Dunbar Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 10th percentile in 2016 → 30th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 20 percentile points since 2016
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Cleveland Municipal
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!English Language Arts scores 12 pts below the Ohio average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school57%
District avg31%
Ohio avg60%
Elementary school
1,088th of 1,560
Ohio public elementary schools ?
Bottom 30%▲ up 20 pts since 2016
From bottom 10% (2016) to bottom 30% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Ohio Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
429th of 1,046
Ohio public middle schools ?
Top 41%▲ up 31 pts since 2016
From bottom 28% (2016) to top 41% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Ohio Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
9th of 50Elementary Schools in the Cleveland Municipal
689th of 773Cleveland Municipal 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202634.51088 of 156030.3%★★☆☆☆
202526.81155 of 155825.9%★☆☆☆☆
202427.71164 of 157726.2%★☆☆☆☆
202329.51156 of 159627.6%★☆☆☆☆
202227.21173 of 158826.1%★☆☆☆☆
202111.31376 of 161014.5%★☆☆☆☆
201940.71128 of 167632.7%★★☆☆☆
201835.91161 of 163629.0%★☆☆☆☆
201724.11278 of 165122.6%★☆☆☆☆
20169.91503 of 167810.4%★☆☆☆☆
201510.41518 of 16849.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20143.71615 of 16874.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20133.71635 of 17013.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201220.11453 of 170915.0%★☆☆☆☆
20116.81582 of 16866.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20105.21580 of 16624.9%☆☆☆☆☆
200921.61357 of 161015.7%★☆☆☆☆
200822.11334 of 158215.7%★☆☆☆☆
200727.31324 of 160917.7%★☆☆☆☆
200628.41231 of 150418.2%★☆☆☆☆
200564.2601 of 150160.0%★★★☆☆
200433.51121 of 147123.8%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202647.1304 of 63151.8%★★★☆☆
202548.5285 of 61553.7%★★★☆☆
202448.4269 of 60355.4%★★★☆☆
202359.2183 of 61070.0%★★★★☆
202262.0168 of 60172.0%★★★★☆
202132.9321 of 53339.8%★★☆☆☆
201963.2178 of 60570.6%★★★★☆
201855.4252 of 59857.9%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202246.0395 of 82452.1%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202630.71060 of 145227.0%★☆☆☆☆
202528.21071 of 145226.2%★☆☆☆☆
202428.91076 of 146626.6%★☆☆☆☆
202330.41061 of 148328.5%★☆☆☆☆
202225.01131 of 148824.0%★☆☆☆☆
202110.81254 of 146714.5%★☆☆☆☆
201937.81048 of 150230.2%★★☆☆☆
201833.71109 of 151826.9%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202665.692 of 31570.8%★★★★☆
202234.0140 of 21635.2%★★☆☆☆
202119.8157 of 18916.9%★☆☆☆☆
201972.244 of 22880.7%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202643.3937 of 146736.1%★★☆☆☆
202532.71054 of 147328.4%★☆☆☆☆
202432.61073 of 148427.7%★☆☆☆☆
202338.4959 of 144733.7%★★☆☆☆
202235.3969 of 141931.7%★★☆☆☆
202115.41162 of 140417.2%★☆☆☆☆
201951.9810 of 146544.7%★★☆☆☆
201844.4948 of 146535.3%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202635.31032 of 146729.7%★☆☆☆☆
202517.11216 of 146617.1%★☆☆☆☆
202422.91159 of 148522.0%★☆☆☆☆
202323.61153 of 149823.0%★☆☆☆☆
202224.81137 of 151825.1%★☆☆☆☆
20218.21337 of 149910.8%★☆☆☆☆
201942.91012 of 153534.1%★★☆☆☆
201833.11116 of 153627.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202670.6164 of 91482.1%★★★★☆
202549.2383 of 93559.0%★★★☆☆
202433.9580 of 90035.6%★★☆☆☆
202341.0477 of 85644.3%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202327.0984 of 121519.0%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202662.0429 of 104659.0%★★★☆☆
202551.2553 of 103646.6%★★☆☆☆
202453.1548 of 104647.6%★★☆☆☆
202328.9746 of 104828.8%★☆☆☆☆
202233.5697 of 101731.5%★★☆☆☆
202110.7906 of 103712.6%★☆☆☆☆
201947.7631 of 105039.9%★★☆☆☆
201851.7568 of 101043.8%★★☆☆☆
201736.1701 of 103832.5%★★☆☆☆
201629.6751 of 105028.5%★☆☆☆☆
201522.9808 of 103521.9%★☆☆☆☆
201412.2875 of 100813.2%★☆☆☆☆
20136.9930 of 10017.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20123.9937 of 9895.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201116.4796 of 92513.9%★☆☆☆☆
201014.3786 of 89512.2%★☆☆☆☆
200911.6768 of 85810.5%★☆☆☆☆
200815.5735 of 83512.0%★☆☆☆☆
200727.8670 of 83720.0%★☆☆☆☆
200630.0599 of 73218.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202670.5103 of 45577.4%★★★★☆
202579.858 of 44286.9%★★★★☆
202468.699 of 42976.9%★★★★☆
202339.9229 of 43647.5%★★☆☆☆
202253.7147 of 41364.4%★★★☆☆
202128.0262 of 38531.9%★★☆☆☆
201950.8181 of 40555.3%★★★☆☆
201864.7118 of 38469.3%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202657.0447 of 94752.8%★★★☆☆
202552.7489 of 93847.9%★★☆☆☆
202443.7576 of 94238.9%★★☆☆☆
202323.6723 of 94323.3%★☆☆☆☆
202227.9677 of 92526.8%★☆☆☆☆
202111.1777 of 91014.6%★☆☆☆☆
201838.4615 of 89731.4%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202546.4144 of 26245.0%★★☆☆☆
201840.6122 of 19236.5%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202670.7269 of 99673.0%★★★★☆
202557.5435 of 98355.7%★★★☆☆
202451.7500 of 98949.4%★★☆☆☆
202335.9653 of 97433.0%★★☆☆☆
202243.8564 of 94740.4%★★☆☆☆
202111.1827 of 92310.4%★☆☆☆☆
201945.9586 of 94538.0%★★☆☆☆
201858.4413 of 92455.3%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202658.3422 of 95555.8%★★★☆☆
202543.5581 of 95439.1%★★☆☆☆
202452.9491 of 95848.7%★★☆☆☆
202326.6708 of 96326.5%★☆☆☆☆
202225.7707 of 94625.3%★☆☆☆☆
20216.5877 of 9245.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201937.7641 of 93331.3%★★☆☆☆
201854.4461 of 91649.7%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202660.7150 of 57974.1%★★★★☆
202583.837 of 57293.5%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankOhio percentileRating
202535.6543 of 77730.1%★★☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
Special Education (2026)82nd percentile+52 vs school
Hispanic (2026)71st percentile+41 vs school
Disabled (2022)52nd percentile+26 vs school
African American (2026)52nd percentile+22 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)36th percentile+6 vs school
Male (2026)30th percentile~ school
Female (2026)27th percentile-3 vs school
White (2023)19th percentile-9 vs school
Middle school
African American (2026)77th percentile+18 vs school
Special Education (2026)74th percentile+15 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)73rd percentile+14 vs school
Male (2026)56th percentile-3 vs school
Female (2026)53rd percentile-6 vs school
Hispanic (2025)45th percentile~ school
White (2025)30th percentile-17 vs school
By subject vs Ohio (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics65%+7 vs state
Science56%-6 vs state
English Language Arts50%-12 vs state

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Latest Ohio data All new data »
2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 15, 2026
2025–26 Ohio State Tests scoresSep 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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