Highland County districts, schools graded in annual State Report Cards
The Ohio Department of Education and Workforce released the Ohio School Report Cards for the 2025-26 school year Tuesday, Sept. 15, with Highland County districts and individual schools receiving star ratings based on their achievements for the most recent academic year.
According to the Ohio DEW, “Districts and schools receive an overall rating ranging from 1 to 5 stars in half-star increments, based on six rated components.” The six components include Achievement (25 percent); Progress (25 percent); Gap Closing (12.5 percent); Early Literacy(12.5 percent); Graduation (12.5 percent); and College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness (12.5 percent).
Five-star ratings mean a district or school has “significantly exceeded” state standards; four-star ratings “exceed” standards; three-star ratings “meet” standards; two-star ratings mean the district or school “needs support to meet standards;” and one-star ratings mean the district or school “needs significant support to meet state standards.”
Overall, Fairfield Local Schools led the way with four and a half stars. Bright Local Schools and Lynchburg-Clay Local Schools each followed with four stars. Greenfield Exempted Village Schools and Hillsboro City Schools both earned a 3.5-star overall rating.
For individual schools, ratings included:
— Five stars: Hillsboro Intermediate School.
— Four and a half stars: Fairfield Middle School; Lynchburg-Clay Elementary.
— Four stars: Fairfield Elementary; Fairfield High School; Greenfield Elementary; Rainsboro Elementary; Whiteoak High School.
— Three and a half stars: Greenfield Middle School; Hillsboro High School; Hillsboro Primary School; Lynchburg-Clay High School; McClain High School; Whiteoak Junior High School.
— Three stars: Bright Elementary; Buckskin Elementary; Hillsboro Early Childhood Center; Lynchburg-Clay Middle School.
— Two and a half stars: Hillsboro Middle School.
Below is a look at how Highland County districts and schools ranked in the different components graded in this year’s report cards.
• The Achievement “component evaluates whether student performance on state tests meets established thresholds and how well students perform overall,” according to the DEW.
The Bright Local, Fairfield, Hillsboro and Lynchburg-Clay districts each earned four stars. Greenfield received three stars.
School grades included:
— Four stars: Fairfield Elementary; Hillsboro Intermediate School; Hillsboro Primary School; Lynchburg-Clay Elementary; Rainsboro Elementary; Whiteoak High School.
— Three and a half stars: Whiteoak Junior High School.
— Three stars: Bright Elementary; Buckskin Elementary; Fairfield High School; Fairfield Middle School; Greenfield Elementary; Greenfield Middle School; Hillsboro High School; Hillsboro Middle School; Lynchburg-Clay High School; Lynchburg-Clay Middle School; McClain High School.
Included in Achievement is the Performance Index, which “measures the test results of every student, not just those who score proficient or higher.”
Fairfield achieved 92.2 points out of a possible 110.2 for an 82.8% performance index score. Hillsboro scored 89.5 points, for an 81.2%; Lynchburg-Clay also met 89.5, for an 81.1%; Bright Local met 88.5, for a 80.3%; and Greenfield met 84.8, for a 77%.
• The Progress Component “measures the amount of growth students are making based on their past performance,” the ODEW says.
Fairfield achieved four stars as a district. Greenfield, Hillsboro and Lynchburg-Clay were all given two stars. Bright Local received one star.
For individual schools, ratings included:
— Five stars: Greenfield Elementary; Hillsboro Intermediate School; Lynchburg-Clay Elementary.
— Four stars: Fairfield Middle School; Rainsboro Elementary.
— Three stars: Buckskin Elementary; Fairfield Elementary; Fairfield High School; Greenfield Middle School.
— Two stars: Hillsboro High School; Lynchburg-Clay Middle School; Whiteoak High School; Whiteoak Junior High School.
— One star: Bright Elementary; Hillsboro Middle School; Lynchburg-Clay High School; McClain High School.
• The Gap Closing component “shows how well schools are meeting the performance expectations for students in English language arts, math and graduation,” according to the ODEW. “It also measures how schools are doing in supporting English learners to increase language proficiency, reducing chronic absenteeism for all students and identifying gifted students and providing gifted services.”
Fairfield earned five stars as a district. Fairfield, Hillsboro and Lynchburg-Clay were each awarded four stars. Greenfield received three stars.
Individual school scores included:
— Five stars: Fairfield Elementary; Fairfield High School; Fairfield Middle School; Greenfield Elementary; Hillsboro Intermediate School; Whiteoak High School.
— Four stars: Bright Elementary; Hillsboro Early Childhood Center; Hillsboro High School; Hillsboro Primary School; Lynchburg-Clay Elementary; Lynchburg-Clay High School; Lynchburg-Clay Middle School; McClain High School; Rainsboro Elementary; Whiteoak Junior High School.
— Three stars: Greenfield Middle School.
— Two stars: Buckskin Elementary; Hillsboro Middle School.
The component includes Annual Performance Goals, which “are established in six areas, and the performance of specific student subgroups are measured against the annual or long-term goals for each area. Goals are established for English Language Arts academic achievement and growth, Math academic achievement and growth, graduation, English learner language proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and gifted performance.”
Fairfield scored 23 out of 38, for a 60.5%, with a 100% testing participation rate. Lynchburg-Clay scored 23 out of 42, for a 54.8%, with 100% testing participation. Bright Local scored 22 of 41, for 53.7%, and their testing participation rate was 100%. Hillsboro scored 26 points out of a possible 49 for a 53.1% in annual performance goals, with a testing participation rate of 99.7%. Greenfield scored 17 out of 43, for a 39.5%, and their testing participation rate was 100%.
Chronic absenteeism, “defined as missing at least 10% of instructional time for any reason – excused or unexcused,” was also gauged. The annual performance goal for the 2025-2026 school year is 14.5%, according to the ODEW.
The percentages of students chronically absent in area districts included: Bright Local, 10.1%, Greenfield, 12.7%; Fairfield, 13.1%; Lynchburg-Clay, 14.9%; and Hillsboro, 25%.
According to the Department of Education and Workforce, “The Gifted Students indicator measures the opportunities provided to and performance of gifted students. [It] includes three elements: Gifted Performance Index, Gifted Progress, and Gifted Identification and Service.”
The goal for the five districts was a 97.5% Gifted Performance Index, which none of them met (Hillsboro, 96.4%; Fairfield, 96.2%; Bright Local, 95.1%; Greenfield, 94.7%; Lynchburg-Clay, 93.4%). The Gifted Progress goal was three stars, which Bright Local, Lynchburg-Clay and Fairfield met with three stars apiece. Hillsboro did not meet the goal, with two stars, nor did Greenfield, with one star. Four districts exceeded their Gifted Identification and Service goal of 80%, with Hillsboro earning a 92.1%, Fairfield receiving a 91.3%, Greenfield receiving an 87.5% and Lynchburg-Clay getting an 83.3%. Bright Local did not meet the goal with a 67.6%.
• Early Literacy “is a measure of reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.”
For districts with only one elementary school, Bright Local led the way with four stars. Lynchburg-Clay had three stars, while Fairfield earned two stars.
Hillsboro received three stars overall. Hillsboro Primary School also earned three stars, while Hillsboro Early Childhood Center was given one star.
The Greenfield district was given two stars. Rainsboro Elementary earned three stars overall, while the other two elementary schools — Buckskin Elementary and Greenfield Elementary — each received two stars.
For the Early Literacy Component, which “examines the effectiveness of the reading and literacy supports provided to children in kindergarten through third grade,” Bright Local had a 76.7%; Lynchburg-Clay earned a 71.3%; Hillsboro received a 61.3%, Fairfield received a 60.9%; and the Greenfield district averaged a 60.3%.
• Graduation “is a measure of the percentage of students that graduate within four or five years.”
Bright Local, Hillsboro, Greenfield and Lynchburg-Clay each scored five stars. Fairfield was awarded four stars.
For the Graduation Component Rating, which “is assigned based on the weighted graduation rate [that] combines the four- and five-year graduation rates into a single rate,” Hillsboro received a 99%; both Greenfield and Lynchburg-Clay earned a 98.2%; Bright Local had a 97.5%; and Fairfield received a 95.5%.
• Also measured is the College, Career, Workforce, and Military Readiness Component, which gauges “how well-prepared Ohio's students are for all future opportunities.”
Bright Local, Fairfield and Greenfield led the way with five stars. Hillsboro and Lynchburg-Clay each received four stars.
More details and ratings for each district and individual school can be viewed at: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov.