Indian Hill, Mariemont and Sycamore all earned five-star ratings on Ohio's 2026 school report cards, the state's highest mark. Only 61 of Ohio's 607 public districts hit the top score.
Madeira earned four stars, ending a streak of four consecutive five-star ratings under the current system. The ratings were released Tuesday, Sept. 15, and draw on data from the 2025–2026 school year.
The report cards, required by state law, grade districts on a five-star scale across six areas: Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation, Early Literacy, and College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness. Any district rated below three stars needs state support to meet standards. Anything above three means it has exceeded them.
Madeira's streak ends
Madeira had held a five-star rating every year since the state adopted the current system. At the district's board meeting in September 2025, Director Dave Bergan reported that Madeira ranked fifth overall among all 607 Ohio districts, higher than every other Hamilton County district that year.
"The only thing that is consistent about the report card is that Madeira is consistently high performing and highly rated," Bergan said at that September 2025 meeting.
No Madeira officials have publicly commented on the 2026 results. Component-level ratings, which would show where the district lost ground, were not available in the state's published data as of Wednesday, Sept. 16.
Statewide gains
Statewide English language arts proficiency hit a five-year high of 62.2%, and math proficiency reached 56.4%, also a five-year high, according to WYSO. Chronic absenteeism fell from 30.2% in the 2021–2022 school year to 23.9% in 2025–2026.
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Steve Dackin said Tuesday, Sept. 15, that every student subgroup showed literacy progress over the past year, calling it something the state had not seen "for a long time."
The largest cluster of districts statewide, 160, landed at four stars. No district scored below two stars.
Local context
At least eight Cincinnati-area districts earned five stars, including Indian Hill, Mariemont, Sycamore, Forest Hills, Mason and Wyoming, according to WVXU. Six area districts fell short of state standards with fewer than three stars.
Sycamore, which serves about 5,900 students across seven schools in Hamilton County, was among the region's top performers noted by the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Families looking for detail on how their district scored in individual categories can check the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's report card website.
