Best Public Schools in Zip Code 43214

ZIP code 43214 in north Columbus (Clintonville/Beechwold) contains 12 schools—4 elementary, 2 middle, 3 high, and 3 alternative—serving students from PK through grade 12 across Columbus City Schools District, charter, and state-run systems, with about 5,252 students enrolled, and the two largest, Great River Connections Academy and Whetstone High School, holding roughly half of that enrollment.

For parents, the academic standout is Indian Springs Elementary School: it beats Ohio in every tested subject, earned 4 stars and a 73rd-percentile state rank, and has the lowest chronic absenteeism among the district’s neighborhood schools at 22.2%. Whetstone High School has the ZIP’s best graduation rate (82.9%) but also the highest chronic absenteeism (64.6%) and weak math (Algebra I 18%). Ridgeview Middle School and World Language Middle School post very high Algebra I results (94.7% and 81%), but those come from small advanced cohorts, not grade-level math, which is 17–41%. Graham School The has the lowest math in the data (Algebra I 3.3%) and the highest spending ($21,235 per student in 2018–19). Great River Connections Academy is the largest alternative school and performs below state in every subject.

Parents should know this ZIP is bimodal: strong results at Indian Springs Elementary School and solid graduation at Whetstone High School contrast with low math at Graham School The, Graham Elementary and Middle School, and Charles School at Ohio Dominican University. Math—not reading—is the systemic weak point; Algebra I and Geometry are below state in all six reporting schools. Attendance and graduation measure different things, since Whetstone High School graduates most students while also having the worst absenteeism. Middle-school Algebra I scores can mislead because only accelerated students take them. Data is thin for Colerain Elementary School, which reports no test scores, and for the specialized Ohio School for the Deaf, Ohio State School for the Blind, and Early Learning Center, whose students and staffing are not comparable to neighborhood schools.