CPS Rises to Three Stars Overall: Earns Four Stars in Progress, 4.5 Stars in Career-Tech

Cincinnati Public Schools earned 3 stars overall on Ohio’s 2025–26 School Report Card, rising half a star after receiving 2.5 stars in each of the previous two years.

The higher overall rating reflects significant academic growth across the district. CPS earned four stars in Progress, up two stars from last year, and improved from two to three stars in Gap Closing.

CPS also earned 4.5 out of five stars on Ohio’s separate Career-Technical Planning District Report Card. The rating exceeds state standards and recognizes strong results in preparing career-tech students for employment and continued education.

“Cincinnati should take notice. CPS has broken through to three stars overall; our students made a two-star leap in Progress and career-tech earned 4.5 stars,” Superintendent Shauna Murphy said. “That is powerful momentum across a District serving more than 34,000 students. I am proud of our students, proud of our employees and energized by what we can accomplish next. We will celebrate this moment, and then we will keep pushing until every student in every school experiences stronger results.”

Report Card Highlights

• Three stars overall, up half a star from last year.
• Four stars in Progress, up two stars from last year.
• Three stars in Gap Closing, up from two stars.
• More than half of CPS schools increased their Achievement scores, and more than half improved their Gap Closing results.
• Thirteen of 18 rated high schools met or exceeded state standards in College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness, including eight earning four stars.

Understanding the 2025-26 Report Card

Three Stars Marks Districtwide Progress

The overall rating brings together CPS performance across Achievement, Progress, Gap Closing, Graduation, Early Literacy and College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness.

Moving from 2.5 to 3 stars means the improvement was strong enough to raise the District’s overall standing after two years at the same rating. CPS now meets state standards overall while exceeding them in student growth.

Progress led the increase, which measures how much students learn during the year based on their prior performance. CPS earned four stars because students across the District made greater academic gains than expected based on where they started.

That result carries particular meaning in a public school district welcoming and educating every child who comes through its doors. CPS students begin with different strengths, experiences and levels of academic preparation. Earning four stars in Progress means the District helped students across those different starting points make meaningful gains. That is the promise and power of public education.

For families, the Progress rating helps answer a fundamental question: Is my child moving forward? This year’s results show that CPS students are gaining ground, building knowledge and mastering new skills.

Career and Technical Education Exceeds State Standards

CPS earned 4.5 out of five stars on Ohio’s Career-Technical Planning District Report Card, a separate report card evaluating the full experience and outcomes of career-technical students.

The 4.5-star rating exceeds state standards. It combines four equally weighted components: Achievement, Career and Post-Secondary Readiness, Graduation and Post-Program Outcomes.

Achievement evaluates students’ technical skill attainment through aligned assessments and industry-recognized credentials, along with their academic performance. Career and Post-Secondary Readiness recognizes accomplishments such as college credit, work-based learning, apprenticeships, industry credentials, honors diplomas and military readiness.

The report card also examines whether career-tech students graduate and what they do after leaving high school, including employment, apprenticeships, military service, post-secondary education and advanced training.

CPS continues to expand career-technical opportunities in fields that need skilled workers. New industry-recognized credentials include emergency communications and refrigeration, with expanded phlebotomy and pharmacy technology programs. A mechatronics grant is also expanding the District’s advanced-manufacturing pathway.

The results demonstrate that CPS students are developing real skills, earning credentials valued by employers and building strong pathways into careers and continued education.

A Focused Approach to Student Growth

Throughout the year, curriculum and accountability teams worked with principals and school teams to monitor student learning, identify specific needs and develop plans for intervention and enrichment. Schools strengthened support across grades K–12 and considered academic performance, attendance, behavior and other factors that can affect a student’s ability to learn.

The same focus contributed to improvement in Gap Closing, which measures achievement and growth among groups of students, including multilingual learners, students with disabilities and gifted students.

CPS met the state measure for English-language proficiency among English learners, who also made gains in English language arts. That progress is especially meaningful in a District where students and families speak 89 languages. Students with disabilities recorded a gain index of 8.8 in mathematics, exceeding the gain index target of 2. 

Gains Across Schools and Subjects

Achievement improved in 15 tested areas, including all six high school end-of-course assessments. Fifth-grade English language arts and high school U.S. Government saw significant gains of 8 percentage points and 5.7 percentage points, respectively. 

Four CPS schools earned five stars overall, the highest rating possible:

• Montessori Lab School at the Bramble Nature Campus
• Kilgour School
• Spencer Center for Gifted and Exceptional Students
• Walnut Hills High School

Several CPS high schools posted especially strong results:

• Withrow University High School increased from two to five stars in Progress, raised its overall rating from 2.5 to 3.5 stars and improved its Achievement score by 11.4 percentage points.
• Woodward Career Technical High School increased from two to four stars in Progress, moved from 2.5 to three stars overall and improved its Achievement score by 9.6 percentage points.
• Western Hills University High School earned five stars in Progress, moved from 2.5 to three stars overall and improved its Achievement score by 10.8 percentage points.
• Hughes STEM High School improved in Progress, Gap Closing and Graduation, earning 3.5 stars overall.

CPS also earned three stars in College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness on the traditional district report card. This component is separate from the Career-Technical Planning District Report Card.

Thirteen of 18 rated high schools met or exceeded state standards in College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness, including eight that earned four stars. Ohio recognizes 11 ways students can demonstrate readiness, including college credit, industry credentials, military enlistment and work-based learning. Like Graduation, the measure reflects students who completed high school in a prior year.

Progress During a Difficult Financial Period

These gains came during one of the most difficult financial periods in the District’s history.

CPS closed a projected $58 million budget gap through spending reductions, position reductions and operational changes. Throughout that process, the District prioritized preserving the experiences students depend on, including classroom instruction, intervention, enrichment, extracurricular activities, student support and transportation.

“Strong public schools are foundational to a strong Cincinnati,” Board of Education President Brandon Craig said. “Our students and employees produced these results while the District navigated difficult financial decisions and kept students at the center. The Board remains committed to building on this momentum and expanding opportunity across CPS.”

Building on the Progress

The results come as CPS begins implementing its newly adopted Strategic Plan. The Board of Education adopted the plan Monday night, establishing one direction for strengthening student outcomes and reducing differences across schools and student groups.

The report card provides evidence of practices CPS can strengthen across schools, including consistent instruction, frequent review of student progress, timely intervention and coordinated academic, attendance and whole-child support.

The Strategic Plan will focus the district on turning stronger growth into lasting gains in achievement, attendance, graduation and readiness for life after high school.

The report card also identifies work requiring greater urgency. CPS earned one star in Graduation based on the 2024–25 graduating class. The District is strengthening early identification of students who are off track, individualized graduation plans and connections to academic, attendance and student supports.

CPS maintained two stars in Early Literacy under a revised state calculation. Beginning this year, students promoted to fourth grade through a parent request, previous retention or certain individualized education program exemptions do not count as promoted within the report-card measure unless they meet a qualifying test score. Ohio also changed the rating thresholds, limiting direct comparison with last year. CPS continues to strengthen early reading instruction and intervention so more students build the skills they need by the end of third grade.

“This report card gives us strong results to celebrate and a clear picture of where we must improve,” Murphy said. “Our Strategic Plan will help us build on the growth happening now and bring stronger, more consistent outcomes to every student in every CPS school.”

For more information about DEW’s report cards, visit: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/