Summary:
ZIP code 44708 in the Canton, Ohio area contains two elementary schools serving different grade spans and student populations: Harter Elementary School, a K–3 school in the Canton City district with 414 students, and Avondale Elementary School, a K–4 school in the Plain Local district with 257 students. Because Harter stops at 3rd grade, the two schools overlap only in 3rd-grade testing, but that overlap shows a very large difference in outcomes.
Avondale Elementary School is the standout here. Its district, Plain Local, ranks 212 of 773 (73rd percentile, 4 stars), and Avondale's own 2025–2026 rank is 318 of 1,560 (80th percentile, 4 stars). In 2025–2026 its 3rd-grade math proficiency was 74.0%, 4th-grade math was 90.2% — the highest test result in this list — and both 3rd- and 4th-grade ELA were about 78%. It scored above Ohio's state rate in all eight reported tests across 2024–25 and 2025–26, and above its own district in six of eight. Chronic absenteeism is just 7.2%, well below the district's 15.2%.
Harter Elementary School faces bigger challenges. Its district, Canton City, ranks 640 of 773 (17th percentile, 1 star), and Harter's most recent school rank is from 2013–2014, when it was 1,224 of 1,687 (27th percentile, 1 star). Its 3rd-grade proficiency is roughly 30–32% in both math and ELA — below its district and the state in all four reported tests — while chronic absenteeism is 27.2%, about 3.8 times Avondale's rate, though below Canton City's 35.3%. Notably, Harter spends more per student ($11,561 vs. $9,326 in 2018–19) and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (17.2 vs. 19.8), so resources alone do not explain the gap. Harter's free/reduced lunch rate is not reported, limiting poverty comparisons.
Thank you for your feedback!