Best Public Schools in Zip Code 44485

ZIP code 44485 has three schools: two PK–8 elementary schools in the Warren City district—McGuffey Pk-8 School and Jefferson Pk-8 School—and one high school serving grades 8–12, Summit Academy Alternative LearnersWarren Middle & Secondary. Total enrollment is 1,569, and the two PK–8 schools enroll about 95.7% of students, so the area is dominated by McGuffey (783 students) and Jefferson (718); Summit is much smaller with 68 students. The area summary lists no middle schools or alternative schools, even though Summit’s name includes “Alternative Learners” and it serves middle/secondary grades.

Among the two PK–8 schools, Jefferson is the top-ranked in 2025–2026: 1,051 of 1,560, 33rd percentile, and 2 stars, and it has improved from 1 star in each of the previous two years. Jefferson’s strengths include 4th grade math (65.0% proficient, above the Warren City district’s 47.7%), 5th grade math (64.3%, above district and state), and 5th/6th grade ELA. It also has the lower student-teacher ratio (15.6 vs. McGuffey’s 16.9) and the highest 2018–2019 per-student spending ($9,999), but its chronic absenteeism is 41.9%. McGuffey is larger and posts the most dramatic single result: Algebra I End of Course at 100% proficient in 2025–2026, after 92.9% in 2024–2025, far above district and state rates. McGuffey also has the strongest grade 8 math, ELA, and science outcomes among the three schools and the lowest chronic absenteeism (37.3%, below the district’s 43.2%), though its overall rank is lower: 1,132 of 1,560, 27th percentile, 1 star.

Summit has the lowest overall ranking—753 of 795, 5th percentile, 0 stars—yet reports a 93.8% graduation rate in 2025–2026, a striking contrast with its test proficiency and ranking. Its reported scores include American History 50.0%, English II 33.3%, and grade 8 Science 27.3%, Mathematics 18.2%, and ELA 18.2%, plus Biology 6.7%, Algebra I 6.3%, and Geometry 0.0%, all below state averages. Summit also has the highest chronic absenteeism (46.8%), the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.8), and the lowest 2018–2019 per-student spending ($6,748). Across the ZIP, test performance is generally below state averages; data limits include blank free/reduced lunch, old spending figures, differing rank denominators, and rough test averages.