Schaefer Middle School

Schaefer Middle School is a grades 7–8 school at 147 S Fostoria Ave in Springfield, OH, serving 285 students as part of the Springfield City School District, an urban district ranked 704th of 773 Ohio districts. The school itself ranks 914th of 1,046 Ohio middle schools—13th percentile, 1 star—after a long slide from the 30th percentile in 2018–19 to its lowest recorded standing.

For parents, the most pressing numbers are in eighth grade and attendance. In 2025–26, only 6.5% of eighth graders tested proficient in math and 17.0% in English language arts, while seventh-grade math reached 28.2%—above the district’s 24.2% and ahead of Hayward Middle School (15.8%) and Roosevelt Middle School (25.0%). Chronic absenteeism is 44.6%, roughly double the 14–31% seen in nearby out-of-district schools and higher than Roosevelt Middle School’s 35.2%, though below Hayward Middle School’s 46.3%. Algebra I is a bright spot: 42.9% proficient, beating the district’s 31.6%, likely because Schaefer Middle School includes a broader group of test-takers.

Compared with schools 10–16 miles away—Mechanicsburg Middle School, Southeastern Junior High School, Greenon Junior High School, Tecumseh Middle School, Fairborn Middle School, Urbana Junior High School, and London Middle School—Schaefer Middle School’s eighth-grade proficiency is 30–45 points lower and its absenteeism is much higher. One genuine asset is class size: its student–teacher ratio is 10.9, the lowest in the comparison group, despite spending only $7,738 per student in the most recent available year. The takeaway: Schaefer Middle School is not the weakest school in its own district, but its eighth-grade achievement and near-half absentee rate are the two areas most likely to limit progress.