More students are graduating from Akron Public Schools than in recent years, with the vast majority ready for life after high school, according to state metrics.
APS’ four-year graduation rate is 90.3 percent for the 2025-26 school year, marking a steady upward climb from the 81 percent of students who graduated from its high schools five years ago. Garfield Community Learning Center led the way with a 6.8 percent increase.
Gains in graduation were offset by continued struggles with early literacy and achievement, which measures how well students perform on the state’s tests. Of Akron’s 26 public elementary schools, the majority received one star in early literacy: Case, Crouse, Findley, Glover, Helen Arnold, I Promise, Leggett, Mason, McEbright, Pfeiffer, Portage Path, Rimer, Ritzman and Schumacher community learning centers. David Hill, Barber, Betty Jane, Forest Hill, Harris/Jackson, Hatton, Resnik and Voris community learning centers earned two stars.
King, Sam Salem, Seiberling and Windemere community learning centers earned three stars in early literacy.
The data points mark a sliver of the information released in the 2025-26 state report card on Tuesday, which saw APS’ overall rating slip from 3.5 to three stars out of a potential five.
The three-star rating — which means the school district met state standards — captures student performance on state tests, efforts made to close gaps between groups of students and prepare graduates for college, careers or the military during the 2025-26 school year. Traditional public and community schools across the state receive one-to-five star ratings in six different components. Scores lower than three stars are considered below state standards.
Preliminary data released by the district last week showed a change to the state’s calculation of its early literacy score kept the overall component at a one-star rating, the lowest score available and the same as the year prior.
How does Akron compare to other urban districts?
Akron Public Schools fared the same or better than all eight of the largest urban districts in the state.
Only Youngstown and Cincinnati schools joined APS in overall three-star ratings, although Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus all have tests under review for irregularities.
A statewide review of test data found more than 50 schools in the state, including three CMSD buildings, had anomalies that put their scores under review.
That same review invalidated test scores for two Columbus City School high schools. The district’s overall score was listed as 2.5 stars on Tuesday, with a notation that the report card may not accurately reflect student performance in achievement, progress or gap closing.
Lorain City Schools joined Columbus with an overall 2.5 rating and Canton, Dayton and Toledo schools received overall two-star scores.
At the state level, increases were seen in literacy proficiency, math and workforce readiness.
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Three of APS’ high schools increase graduation rates
The graduation increase earned the district three stars in that component, which is weighted based on four- and five-year graduation rates. APS’ district-wide five-year graduation rate was 89.8 percent.
Building-by-building, APS’ high school graduation rate varies widely.
- Buchtel CLC’s four-year graduation rate was 93.5 percent, an increase from 2024’s 87.7 percent, but still lagging behind its 2023 peak of 95.2 percent. It earned three stars in the component.
- East CLC’s four-year graduation rate was 86.2 percent, a decline from 2024’s peak of 91.1 percent. It earned two stars in the component.
- Ellet CLC’s four-year graduation rate was 96.4 percent, a boost from 2024’s 94.8 percent. It earned four stars in the component.
- Firestone CLC graduated 98.2 percent of its students in four years, an increase in 2024’s 96.8 percent. It earned five stars in the metric.
- Garfield CLC’s four-year graduation rate was 92.3 percent, a sharp increase from 2024’s 85.5 percent. It earned three stars in the component.
- North High School’s graduation rate lagged behind other schools. It received two stars in the metric, graduating 87.1 percent of its students in four years, a slight dip from 2024’s 87.8 percent rate.
APS’ speciality high schools at the National Inventors Hall of Fame School and Early College each received five stars in their graduation rate and other high marks from the state. APS online struggled to meet the state’s graduation rates, with 84.9 percent of its students receiving a diploma in four years. It received a one-star rating in the component and overall.
Akron Alternative Academy lists no graduates, as students are transferred back to their “home school” within the district to graduate with their peers.
Workforce, career readiness a boon for Akron schools
The state’s graduation rate calculates how many students cross the stage, diploma-in-hand after four or five years in high school, but does not measure how ready those teens are for what comes next.
Starting with the 2024-25 report card, Ohio introduced a college, career, workforce and military readiness component to track how many students have industry credentials, remediation-free ACT or SAT scores, college credits, apprenticeships or military enlistment when finishing high school.
Overall, Akron Public Schools scores high on the metric, thanks in part to the nearly 60 percent of graduates who leave its buildings with industry-recognized credentials through its myriad college and career pathways.
APS offers different career paths spread across its high schools, including construction, culinary arts, welding, hospitality, marketing, performing arts and engineering. Depending on the pathway, students may be able to graduate with an industry credential or pre-apprenticeship program — giving them a pathway to graduation under Ohio’s requirements, and preparing them for a future career. Other pathways set students up for future study at a two- or four-year college.
It also surpasses the statewide rate of graduates with gainful employment after leaving high school, with 48.6 percent of APS alumni employed after graduation compared to the state average of 36.5 percent. It also had higher military enlistment (4.7 percent compared to the statewide 1.9 percent).
District-wide, its students still struggle to meet minimum scores on the ACT, a standardized test often used for college admissions and scholarships. Only 8 percent of APS students who took the ACT received a remediation-free score.
Chronic absenteeism remains a hurdle
Chronic absenteeism measures the students who miss 10 percent — two to three days a month — or more of school for any reason. APS’ chronic absenteeism rate was 40.9 percent for the 2025-26 school year, a steady improvement from nearly 50 percent in 2022.
Its fellow urban districts also struggle with the metric. Cleveland Metropolitan Schools’ chronic absenteeism was measured at 54.3 percent, while nearby Canton’s stood at 35.3 percent for the 2025-26 school year.
The state’s goal for districts is 14.5 percent.
Akron Public Schools has programs and campaigns to address attendance, such as a pilot in the East Cluster this school year to help reduce the number of days its elementary school students miss through a partnership between Akron After School and the Akron Area YMCA.
Early literacy improvements prove a marathon, not sprint
Despite more students crossing the stage with diplomas, early literacy continues to be a struggle.
Starting with this year’s report card, the state only counted students’ test scores or other assessments high enough to advance them to fourth grade under its third grade reading guarantee. Only 58 percent of the district’s third graders met the minimum score for promotion to fourth grade.
That does not mean the rest of the district’s third-graders did not advance to the next grade. Families are able to move their child to the next grade despite a low test score — a move that many have done in years prior and previously counted toward the district’s report card.
Some buildings, like Ritzman CLC, saw steep declines in literacy scores. The Ellet elementary school dropped from three stars last year to one.
Keith Leichty-Clifford, director of school improvement, said last year that more than 96 percent of its students were promoted to third grade through test scores and family waivers. Under the new metric, only about 55 percent of its students scored high enough to move to the fourth grade.
Its proficiency score and the number of students on-track in reading also took a dip, he said, shifting its rating down.
Similarly, McEbright CLC saw dips in its promotion to fourth grade and proficiency scores, bringing it down from two to one stars in early literacy.
APS continues to focus on aligning its literacy education to phonics and science of reading practices, Leichty-Clifford said, but seeing progress takes time.
“We’ve always said we’re running the marathon and our progress and gap-closing measures are showing that our kids are learning,” he said. “Four [stars] means that we’re exceeding state expectations. While we still have some work to do to get those achievement results up, we are moving in the right direction.”
