Summary:
ZIP code 44883 in Tiffin, Ohio is home to two public high schools serving very different student populations: Columbian High School, part of Tiffin City Schools, which serves grades 9–12 with 786 students, and Old Fort High School, part of Old Fort Local, which serves grades 7–12 with 264 students in a more rural setting outside the city.
Academically, Old Fort is the standout. It ranks in the 75th percentile of Ohio high schools (195 of 795, 4 stars) and posted a 100% graduation rate with 17.2% chronic absenteeism. It scored above the state average in all six End-of-Course subjects in 2025–26, averaging +12.9 points over Ohio, and its middle-school tests in grades 7–8 averaged roughly +18 points above the state. Columbian ranks in the 59th percentile (323 of 795, 3 stars), has a 92.5% graduation rate, and beats the state in five of six subjects — but nearly 1 in 4 of its students (24.0%) is chronically absent, and its teacher ratio is 26.2 students per teacher, about double Old Fort's 12.8.
The most important difference for families weighing these schools is math. Old Fort's Geometry proficiency is 60.0%, above Ohio's 43.3%. Columbian's Geometry is 33.5%, below the state for a second straight year and its only subject under the state average — while its Algebra I sits at 74.4%. That isolated gap points to a course-specific issue rather than a general math weakness. Both schools are improving: Columbian gained in five of six subjects and rose 13 percentile points, while Old Fort's gains came with smaller class sizes. Note that Columbian does not report a free/reduced-lunch rate, and spending figures date to 2018–19.
Thank you for your feedback!