SWL Digital Academy

SWL Digital Academy is a very small public digital school in Pataskala, Ohio, serving grades 7–12 with 75 students as part of the Southwest Licking Local district, which ranks 308th of 773 Ohio districts (60th percentile, 3 stars). The school itself ranks much lower: 620th of 795 high schools (22nd percentile, 1 star) in 2025–26, and it has earned 1 star in each of the last four years, with statewide percentiles of 28, 11, 22, and 22. That places it in the bottom quarter of Ohio high schools, well behind its own district.

Chronic absenteeism is the standout concern. In 2025–26, 66.5% of students were chronically absent — more than four times the district's 16.2% and up from 53.1% the year before. Only nearby Independence High School (78.3%) and Pickerington Academy (75.6%) were higher; most nearby comprehensive high schools fell between 16.9% and 46.8%. The encouraging news is graduation: the rate rose from 79.1% to 84.8% to 88.9% across three reported years, cutting the gap to the district from 15.0 points to 8.1. Still, that trails the district's 97.0% and most nearby high schools (92.3%–99.0%), though it beats Independence (78.1%) and Pickerington Academy (82.1%).

Test results are mixed, with math a clear red flag. American Government proficiency was 72.7% in 2025–26 — above Ohio's 71.6% but below the district's 85.4%. Geometry, however, was 0% in both 2024–25 and 2025–26, compared with 54.5% in the district and 43.3% statewide; Watkins Memorial High School (55.4%), Licking Heights High School (52.8%), and Pickerington High School North (57.6%) show what nearby schools achieve. With only 75 students, a few students can swing percentages sharply from year to year, and data on free/reduced lunch, student-teacher ratio, and spending were not supplied, leaving context gaps.