Summary:
ZIP code 45745 (Lower Salem, Ohio) contains just one public school — Salem-Liberty Elementary School, a K–5 building with 78 students that is the only elementary, middle, high, or alternative school in the area, so local families attend it through fifth grade before moving on to other Fort Frye Local schools.
Salem-Liberty is a genuine standout by state standards. It earned 5 stars and ranked 122nd out of 1,560 Ohio elementary schools in 2025-2026, placing it in roughly the top 8% of the state, and its statewide rank has climbed steadily from 226 to 185 to 122 over three years. In 2025-2026 it posted perfect 100% proficiency in 5th grade science, 4th grade math, and 5th grade math, and its school-wide average across the seven tested subject-grade cells was about 90.4%, versus about 80.8% for its own district and about 63.8% for Ohio. The school beat the state average in all 14 subject-year cells examined and its district in 13 of 14, with the year-over-year gain (+6.1 points) far outpacing the district and state (+0.3 points each). It achieves this alongside chronic absenteeism of 6.8% (district: 9.4%) and a student-teacher ratio of 13.1, even though about 59% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
The one area to watch is 3rd grade English language arts, at 64.7% — the only measure below the district (72.1%) and the only one within single digits of the state. Because the school has roughly 13 students per grade, small differences can reflect just one or two children, so all results are best read as directional rather than precise. Per-student spending of $11,070 dates from 2018-2019 and is historical context only.
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