Henry Defer Intermediate Elementary School

Henry Defer Intermediate Elementary School is a grades 3–5 school serving 288 students in Streetsboro, Ohio, roughly 20 miles southeast of Cleveland, and it belongs to the Streetsboro City district, which ranks 386th of 773 Ohio districts — squarely mid-pack. The school's own state ranking has swung between roughly the 40th and 65th percentile for a decade: it reached the 65th percentile in 2024–25, then dropped back to the 44th in 2025–26. Families should read that pattern as volatility rather than steady improvement.

Test scores land close to state average overall — about 61.7% proficient versus roughly 64.0% statewide — but that average hides sharp splits. Grade 3 is the clear pressure point, with math at 53.2% (state: 62.1%) and English language arts at 50.0% (state: 63.4%), a gap of more than 13 points. Grade 5 science (68.8%) and grade 4 math (73.2%) are genuine strengths. The school's low-income share grew from 30.6% to 44.1% in just two years, which makes Davey Elementary School (49.4% low-income) and Walls Elementary School (51.6%) the fairest nearby comparisons — and Davey outscored Henry Defer in every tested area while ranking at the 67th percentile versus Henry Defer's 44th. Meanwhile Leighton Elementary School and East Woods Intermediate School post far higher proficiency, but serve student bodies that are only 7–10% economically disadvantaged.

Chronic absenteeism is the school's quiet win: 14.8%, better than the district's 19.1% and down from 29.3% in 2021–22, though still two to three times the rate at nearby Aurora and Hudson schools; Willyard Elementary School sits at 34.1%. Special education students rank at the 15th percentile, and low-income students cluster in the low 30s — well below the school as a whole. Class sizes have crept up from 17.2 to 18.0 students per teacher over three years.