THE TOP ACADEMIC
OHIO HIGH SCHOOLS - 2012
MAY 10, 2013
PREPARED BY SCOTT GERBER
GERBER ANALYTICS, LLC

 

This document identifies the best schools in Ohio based on each school's performance on the Ohio Graduation Test (OGT). This is the only report that examines Ohio's public, private, and charter schools together. This report analyzes the March 2012 OGT, and this is the sixth year for this analysis.

What Was Included?

For those unfamiliar with the OGT tests, there are five parts -- Reading, Mathematics, Writing, Science, and Social Studies. There is also a summary page that shows the percentage of students who successfully passed all five parts with a “Proficient” rating. The data used in this report is from those five parts and the summary.

There were 1,022 schools included in this analysis. The Ohio Department of Education (ODE) Local Report Card data download capability was used to acquire most of the data for the public schools. The ODE provided electronic media as the source for the private school data, the charter schools, and the "percentage of students who passed all five parts" of the test for all schools.

Methodology Used

To obtain the initial group of schools to evaluate, the top schools were identified by using the percentage of students who scored “Proficient” on all five tests. This approach emphasizes the importance of getting all students to successfully pass the test. Those schools which had 91% of their 10th grade students pass all five portions of the test moved to the next round of the analysis. This year, 10.1% made the cut. Nine schools had 100% passing rates for all five portions of the test.

YEAR

# ACHIEVING 91% THRESHOLD

% ACHIEVING 91% THRESHOLD

# OF SCHOOLS WITH 100% PASS RATE

2007
59
6.0%
7
2008
65
6.6%
12
2009
114
11.3%
13
2010
63
6.2%
5
2011
84
8.2%
8
2012
104
10.1%
9

After identifying the schools that met the 91% threshold, the next step was to calculate the "Performance Index Score (Adjusted)" (PIS) for each school. This field mimics the calculation that the Ohio Department of Education uses for its Performance Index Score, and it more accurately reflects the overall performance of a school. The difference between the ODE value and this document's is that this document calculates the number for only the 10th graders who took the tests. It also calculates the Performance Index Scores for private schools which the ODE does not provide. Creating this field permits an apples-to-apples comparison for all schools. Click here to go to the Appendix to view the calculation.

Championship Schools

My list of the championship schools are listed below in Performance Index Score order. St. Charles Preparatory, Seven Hills, Hathaway Brown, and Ursuline Academy have been named as championship schools for each of the past six years. [Note: All of the links below go to March 2013 data, not the March 2012 data.]

HIGH SCHOOL

CITY

COUNTY

YEARS AS CHAMPION

Columbus
Franklin
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Cincinnati
Hamilton
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Columbus
Franklin
2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012
Shaker Heights
Cuyahoga
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Cincinnati
Hamilton
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Cincinnati
Hamilton
2011, 2012
Toledo
Lucas
2009, 2012

Identifying the Championship Schools

The criteria for selecting the championship schools should be relatively clear upon examination of the table below. The schools were selected based on a combination of Performance Index Scores, the number of top ten rankings in each subject, and a natural break between schools. Fewer schools were selected as championship schools this year versus last year because the Performance Index Scores were higher last year among the championship schools.

This is the first year that statewide rankings are displayed for each school. To create the rankings, the Performance Index Scores were calculated for each individual subject. The schools' subject Performance Index Scores were then sorted. For example, St. Charles Preparatory had the highest ranking with its overall Performance Index Score (117.2) , and when the same calculation was used to create a "Performance Index Score" for the individual subjects, it was also ranked first in Reading, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. The schools which have subjects ranked in state's top ten are further identified with a blue background.

The subject rankings provide an additional dimension by helping to identify the strengths and weaknesses within each school. To view detailed performance on each school, click on the school name. Please note that the amount of information available for each school has been expanded this year to include five years of trend charts. (See below for more information about the rankings.)

Note that the table is long -- it contains detailed data for all of the 104 schools that reached the 91% threshold. These schools are sorted according to their Performance Index Scores. [Note: All of the links below go to March 2013 data, not the March 2012 data.]

HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
St Charles Preparatory HS
Columbus Diocese
Franklin
172
117.2
100%
1
1
4
1
1
5
Seven Hills School
OAIS - Seven Hills School
Hamilton
61
115.8
100%
2
7
6
2
2
5
Columbus School for Girls
OAIS - Columbus School For Girls
Franklin
50
115.0
100%
4
20
1
15
3
3
Hathaway Brown HS
OAIS - Hathaway Brown
Cuyahoga
85
114.9
100%
5
2
3
9
4
5
Ursuline Academy HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
175
114.9
100%
3
6
2
4
19
4
Walnut Hills High School
Cincinnati City
Hamilton
376
114.1
98.9%
13
4
13
12
9
2
Maumee Valley Country Day HS
OAIS - Maumee Valley Country Day
Lucas
44
114.0
97.7%
14
11
19
8
8
2
Columbus Academy
OAIS - Columbus Academy
Franklin
91
113.7
100%
9
17
22
5
24
2
University School
OAIS - University
Cuyahoga
84
113.7
100%
11
13
23
3
35
1
Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
OAIS - Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy
Hamilton
115
113.6
99.1%
20
3
16
17
13
1
Solon High School
Solon City
Cuyahoga
400
113.5
95.0%
10
22
31
13
5
2
Summit Country Day HS
OAIS - Summit Country Day
Hamilton
97
113.4
94.8%
6
28
5
24
22
2
John Hay Early College High School
Cleveland Municipal SD
Cuyahoga
66
113.3
100%
12
15
15
30
10
1
Miami Valley School
OAIS - Miami Valley
Montgomery
47
113.3
97.9%
7
16
7
20
45
2
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
Indian Hill High School
Indian Hill Exempted Village
Hamilton
183
112.9
93.4%
17
34
53
21
7
1
St Xavier HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
388
112.9
99.0%
18
14
48
14
42
0
Laurel School Academy
OAIS - Laurel
Cuyahoga
66
112.9
97.0%
8
26
27
31
20
1
Toledo Early College High School
Toledo City
Lucas
41
112.9
95.1%
21
9
35
55
14
1
Madeira High School
Madeira City
Hamilton
108
112.8
97.2%
34
12
70
10
33
1
Wyoming High School
Wyoming City
Hamilton
173
112.6
92.5%
25
27
12
38
27
0
Ottawa Hills High School
Ottawa Hills Local
Lucas
68
112.4
95.6%
45
30
14
28
30
0
Upper Arlington High School
Upper Arlington City
Franklin
435
112.4
93.1%
27
25
37
44
12
0
Hudson High School
Hudson City
Summit
379
112.3
93.9%
30
29
28
44
26
0
Oakwood High School
Oakwood City
Montgomery
156
112.2
94.9%
26
31
51
26
40
0
Hawken School
OAIS - Hawken School
Geauga
104
112.2
96.2%
16
18
29
37
71
0
Aurora High School
Aurora City
Portage
267
112.1
94.8%
33
21
49
46
38
0
Bishop Watterson HS
Columbus Diocese
Franklin
223
112.0
95.1%
39
50
41
39
18
0
Dublin Jerome High School
Dublin City
Franklin
314
112.0
96.8%
36
37
47
19
50
0
St Ignatius HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Cuyahoga
351
112.0
96.0%
22
23
34
53
47
0
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
Montessori HS at University Circle
Montessori HS
Cuyahoga
16
111.8
93.8%
162
5
42
42
36
1
Cincinnati Country Day HS
OAIS - Cincinnati Country Day
Hamilton
62
111.7
96.8%
37
45
71
7
116
1
Turpin High School
Forest Hills Local
Hamilton
279
111.5
93.2%
65
53
80
27
31
0
Akron Early College High School
Akron City
Summit
89
111.5
96.6%
128
40
59
66
6
1
Sycamore High School
Sycamore Community City
Hamilton
454
111.4
93.4%
45
62
99
34
39
0
St Vincent St Mary HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Summit
172
111.4
94.8%
78
46
44
70
16
0
Western Reserve Academy
OAIS - Western Reserve Academy
Summit
93
111.3
94.6%
35
10
126
79
89
1
Granville Christian Academy
Granville Christian Academy
Licking
20
111.3
95.0%
59
87
18
32
55
0
Independence High School
Independence Local
Cuyahoga
113
111.3
92.9%
49
90
45
60
29
0
William Mason High School
Mason City
Warren
790
111.2
91.0%
53
43
124
62
27
0
Minster High School
Minster Local
Auglaize
74
111.2
91.9%
152
19
39
136
11
0
Granville High School
Granville Exempted Village
Licking
227
111.1
94.7%
50
32
93
43
75
0
Archbishop Alter HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Montgomery
158
111.1
94.9%
107
72
60
22
44
0
St Ursula Academy
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
157
111.0
97.5%
19
69
25
73
136
0
Avon Lake High School
Avon Lake City
Lorain
288
111.0
92.0%
71
49
86
35
57
0
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
Mother of Mercy HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
121
111.0
96.7%
44
41
24
36
185
0
Brecksville-Broadview Heights High Schoo
Brecksville-Broadview Heights City
Cuyahoga
353
110.9
91.2%
41
77
78
74
51
0
Norwalk Catholic School
Toledo Diocese
Huron
55
110.8
94.5%
115
42
69
54
53
0
Coldwater High School
Coldwater Exempted Village
Mercer
106
110.8
90.6%
183
8
182
33
62
1
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy
Cuyahoga Valley Christian Acad
Summit
143
110.8
94.4%
42
91
46
59
68
0
New Albany High School
New Albany-Plain Local
Franklin
320
110.8
94.1%
61
47
54
65
82
0
Olentangy High School
Olentangy Local
Delaware
303
110.6
91.4%
77
82
122
89
21
0
Notre Dame Academy
Toledo Diocese
Lucas
142
110.5
94.4%
28
68
8
146
150
1
Monclova Christian Academy
Monclova Christian Academy
Lucas
12
110.5
91.7%
131
38
313
6
86
1
Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Geauga
169
110.5
94.1%
40
152
21
52
122
0
St Joseph Central HS
Steubenville Diocese
Lawrence
10
110.4
100%
139
88
274
18
23
0
Springboro High School
Springboro Community City
Warren
378
110.4
93.4%
89
58
145
48
64
0
Olentangy Liberty High School
Olentangy Local
Delaware
400
110.4
91.3%
65
75
95
76
73
0
Fairfield Christian Academy
Fairfield Christian Academy El
Fairfield
58
110.4
94.8%
74
56
92
67
78
0
Bexley High School
Bexley City
Franklin
146
110.3
92.5%
99
73
168
88
34
0
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
West Geauga High School
West Geauga Local
Geauga
228
110.2
93.0%
91
63
110
87
63
0
Kenston High School
Kenston Local
Geauga
242
110.2
91.7%
70
80
77
47
143
0
Canfield High School
Canfield Local
Mahoning
233
110.2
91.4%
86
132
127
81
37
0
Tree of Life-Northridge Branch
Tree of Life
Franklin
57
110.2
94.7%
47
54
85
50
202
0
Magnificat HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Cuyahoga
179
110.2
93.3%
29
137
26
145
103
0
Marion Local High School
Marion Local
Mercer
77
110.1
92.2%
79
24
10
106
268
1
St Edward HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Cuyahoga
202
110.0
92.1%
87
48
56
84
178
0
Walsh Jesuit HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Summit
247
110.0
95.1%
62
142
91
80
76
0
Holgate High School
Holgate Local
Henry
30
109.9
96.7%
100
60
89
92
126
0
Christian Academy Schools
Christian Academy
Shelby
12
109.8
91.7%
131
39
79
163
86
0
Wellington School
OAIS - Wellington School
Franklin
48
109.7
95.8%
64
71
97
127
149
0
Revere High School
Revere Local
Summit
227
109.7
91.6%
68
127
117
93
96
0
Bellbrook High School
Sugarcreek Local School District
Greene
221
109.7
91.4%
147
81
102
98
88
0
Westlake High School
Westlake City
Cuyahoga
339
109.7
91.2%
101
101
147
64
94
0
Mount Notre Dame HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
143
109.7
90.9%
82
140
66
134
77
0
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
Anderson High School
Forest Hills Local
Hamilton
303
109.7
90.8%
98
76
143
105
92
0
John Hay School of Science & Medicine
Cleveland Municipal SD
Cuyahoga
89
109.7
97.8%
182
150
166
51
32
0
Troy Christian HS
Troy Christian
Miami
42
109.6
92.9%
111
133
42
109
102
0
Wadsworth High School
Wadsworth City
Medina
382
109.6
91.4%
152
89
138
61
95
0
New Knoxville High School
New Knoxville Local
Auglaize
33
109.5
97.0%
135
197
131
16
131
0
Moeller HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
226
109.4
91.6%
93
135
115
110
93
0
McNicholas HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Hamilton
160
109.3
90.6%
92
162
90
102
119
0
Bishop Fenwick HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Warren
160
109.3
95.0%
102
148
32
107
165
0
Anthony Wayne High School
Anthony Wayne Local
Lucas
361
109.1
91.1%
156
97
187
118
85
0
Stephen T Badin HS
Cincinnati Archdiocese
Butler
117
109.1
93.2%
155
177
223
49
74
0
Pettisville High School
Pettisville Local
Fulton
49
109.1
91.8%
137
174
118
41
177
0
Kirtland High School
Kirtland Local
Lake
108
109.0
91.7%
134
136
158
111
100
0
Perrysburg High School
Perrysburg Exempted Village
Wood
320
108.9
90.9%
120
169
147
77
151
0
Whitney Young School
Cleveland Municipal SD
Cuyahoga
33
108.9
93.9%
123
85
141
176
137
0
Padua Franciscan HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Cuyahoga
183
108.9
91.3%
110
233
67
173
69
0
HIGH SCHOOL /
DISTRICT
COUNTY
# STU.
PIS
PASS 5%
STATEWIDE RANKINGS
# TOP 10
READING
MATH
WRITING
SCIENCE
SOCIAL STUDIES
Tippecanoe High School
Tipp City Exempted Village
Miami
210
108.8
91.0%
113
93
181
160
139
0
Bloomfield High School
Bloomfield-Mespo Local
Trumbull
20
108.7
95.0%
60
155
103
185
172
0
St John's Jesuit HS
Toledo Diocese
Lucas
190
108.6
93.7%
176
119
174
137
115
0
Lutheran West HS
Cleveland Lutheran Hs Assoc
Cuyahoga
113
108.6
91.2%
151
124
114
196
118
0
Arlington Local High School
Arlington Local
Hancock
44
108.6
93.2%
278
129
449
85
14
0
William V Fisher Catholic HS
Columbus Diocese
Fairfield
60
108.6
93.3%
75
204
103
111
210
0
Fairlawn High School
Fairlawn Local
Shelby
45
108.3
93.3%
216
131
224
116
134
0
Fairbanks High School
Fairbanks Local
Union
73
108.2
91.8%
204
187
136
158
113
0
Central Catholic HS Tuscarawas Co
Columbus Catholic
Tuscarawas
33
108.2
90.9%
150
57
169
133
340
0
Lima Central Catholic HS
Toledo Diocese
Allen
80
108.0
92.5%
175
188
125
190
165
0
Continental Local High School
Continental Local
Putnam
42
107.9
92.9%
260
115
229
114
175
0
Fort Jennings High School
Jennings Local
Putnam
33
107.1
90.9%
390
95
237
131
242
0
Fort Recovery High School
Fort Recovery Local
Mercer
65
107.1
90.8%
325
125
375
103
206
0
Trinity HS
Cleveland Catholic Diocese
Cuyahoga
91
106.7
91.2%
189
326
183
289
133
0
Woodmore High School
Woodmore Local
Sandusky
70
105.0
92.9%
311
348
264
321
287
0

Using This List

The schools on My Top Academic Ohio High School list are all exceptional schools, however, there are other excellent schools which are not on the list because they did not reach the 91% "Passed Five of Five" threshold. If a school wants to proclaim that it is 25th on the list, that is appropriate. To proclaim that a school is 25th in academics in Ohio, is inappropriate. Again, the 91% threshold is extremely important because it tells readers that essentially all of the students are extremely serious about academics and that all of the kids in each and every classroom really care. There are also a few schools that have been on the list in the past (i.e. Columbus Torah Academy) but not this year because they did not have performance data. The ODE requires that at least ten students take the tests before they release the data and some schools did not have enough students take the test. For the complete ranking list of all schools in Ohio, click here.

Comparative Analysis

This web site provides the best set of tools to allow education professionals and enthusiasts to compare high school academic performance. This year, the reports have gotten even better by enabling users to view side-by-side school comparisons and by including the state rankings for each school in all of the various subjects.

Listed to the right is a side-by-side comparison of Performance Index Scores for two schools in the same district that are 1.4 miles apart. It is not apparent that Hilliard Davidson performed substantially better on the test than Hilliard Darby by looking at the graphs, but from a ranking perspective, it did considerably better.

Looking closer at the rankings in the second table, Hilliard Davidson performed substantially better on all subject tests except for Reading. As an analyst, I would like to better understand how the rankings in Reading can be the same (214 vs. 215), but Social Studies can be so different (98 vs. 262), especially since Social Studies does not include complicated concepts.

The same table for Lakota East and Lakota West is shown on the right. Again, these are two similar schools in the same school district. Lakota West is a bit stronger in Math and Science, and Lakota East is better in Reading, Social Studies, and Writing.

The reason why these tables are so compelling is because the students taking the tests are the same. Theoretically, the rankings should be very similar across all subjects within the same school. Also be aware that the individual reports for each school contain the ranking information from last year's test so a year-by-year comparison is available.

One of the goals for this web site is to encourage communities to become better informed and to ask questions. I believe these tools will encourage this.

Delays, Delays, and More Delays...

The data used to create this report is normally released by the end of October. That normally means that I have November, December, and January to crunch through the academic data before the busiest time of the year for me arrives, which is the boys high school tennis season. This year, due to the data rigging scandal, the data was released on April 16, during the middle of the boys tennis season. This was even further complicated because this is the first year that my tennis web site coverage was expanded from the central Ohio area, which includes 70 teams, to include northeast and southwest Ohio for a total of 190 teams.

Normally additional research would be included with this report, but that will follow after the boys tennis season.

This report is normally released in an Adobe Acrobat pdf, but pdf's do not provide the flexibility that html provides. Using html enables better linking, better viewing on mobile devices, and it enabled me to create the report faster. There are also fewer user technical problems associated with html.

To Repeat a Portion of Last Year's Report. . .

Does this document include any mistakes? Hopefully not, the data was carefully entered and the numbers were double checked, but it is possible. Please send a Feedback message with any significant discrepancies. The revised document will be updated and placed online.

Will this type of ranking put more pressure on schools to do well? It might if the State of Ohio would endorse and publish the results of this type of friendly competition. It would encourage all schools and their students to do better as they strive to be one of the best schools. However, this is not about applying pressure to just the high schools. Excellent performance on this 10th grade test is not possible without the following:

Will this type of ranking force schools to spend more time emphasizing the process of test taking? Some schools spend an inordinate amount of time teaching their students to take the OGT. The above schools also prepare for the OGT, but they likely cover the fundamentals so thoroughly that the OGT is a minor distraction for them -- not a major emphasis. There are also some schools that appear to have substantially better approaches than others to teach some subjects. Perhaps they would be willing to share some of their best practices with other schools?

While it would certainly be great to profit from this effort, please record the last six years of this education analysis as a pro-bono or volunteer effort. I do this type of analysis because I enjoy doing it. I am also hopeful that it will benefit an extremely large number of Ohioans. If this analysis receives a large distribution, that might happen. I certainly appreciate the Cincinnati Enquirer's coverage of this analysis for the last three years.

You may forward this report to anyone you wish but please give proper attribution if you use any of this material. To assist with tracking, please provide others with this link:

I have a substantial "one-of-a-kind" database, and I am open to new analysis projects. If you have an education-related analysis project in mind that you think would benefit all Ohio schools, please contact me.

Please let me know if you have any questions or comments.

Scott Gerber
Gerber Analytics, LLC
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Calculation of Performance Index Score (Adjusted)

Note that the Performance Index Score (Adjusted) is different from what you may have seen on the Ohio Department of Education’s Report Card. The calculation in this document is only for the 10th grade students. It was calculated as follows:

Ada High School


Subject
Below Basic Basic Proficient Accelerated Advanced

 

Mathematics 9.4% 9.4% 24.5% 20.8% 35.8%  
Reading 3.8% 5.7% 43.4% 35.8% 11.3%  
Science 3.8% 18.9% 26.4% 22.6% 28.3%  
Social Studies 15.1% 9.4% 24.5% 22.6% 28.3%  
Writing 5.7% 5.7% 39.6% 47.2% 1.9%  
             
Total of Above 37.7% 49.1% 158.5% 149.1% 105.7%  
Average of 5 7.5% 9.8% 31.7% 29.8% 21.1%  
Factor

0.3 0.6 1 1.1 1.2  
            Summation
Average * Factor 2.3 5.9 31.7 32.8 25.4 98