Best Public Schools in Zip Code 45212

ZIP code 45212 is home to six schools in the Norwood City district — four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school — serving 1,698 students, with enrollment ranging from 124 at The Norwood Montessori School to 435 at Norwood High School. The district as a whole ranks 504th out of 773 Ohio districts, about the 35th percentile, with 2 stars, and every school in the ZIP shares that 2-star district profile, so families should look past the district rating and compare schools on their own results.

Several schools beat the state in specific subjects. Norwood Montessori has by far the lowest chronic absenteeism (12.4% versus the district's 32.6%) and 81.8% proficiency in 3rd-grade ELA, though its 3rd-grade math is only 36.4%. Williams Avenue Elementary School has the lowest absenteeism among the traditional public schools (20.1%) and tops the state in 3rd-grade ELA (73.3%) and 5th-grade math (61.7%). Sharpsburg Elementary posts 78.1% in both 4th-grade math and ELA, and Norwood View Elementary School reaches 72.2% in 4th-grade math. At the secondary level, Norwood High School is above the state in American History (76.9%) and Biology (70.9%), and Norwood Middle School reports 100% proficiency in Algebra I, though that likely reflects a small group of test-takers since most other middle-school results fall below state.

The main concerns are attendance and sharp grade-level swings. Norwood High School's chronic absenteeism of 47.6% is the highest in the ZIP, and its Geometry proficiency of 39.3% remains below the state's 43.3%. Norwood View Elementary School saw 5th-grade math fall from 59.3% to 34.4%, while Sharpsburg Elementary's 3rd-grade ELA dropped from 61.1% to 40%. Three schools slipped in rank: Sharpsburg (58th–59th to 45th percentile), Norwood View (54th to 40th), and Norwood High (50th to 38th). Spending and class size don't line up neatly with results — Williams Avenue spends the most ($11,838 per pupil) but sits near the 43rd percentile, while Montessori has the largest student-teacher ratio (20.3) yet the strongest attendance and 3rd-grade ELA.