Ohio School Report Cards show a five-year high in literacy proficiency after the first full year of Science of Reading implementation
9/15/2026
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Lt. Governor Jim Tressel, and Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen D. Dackin today announced the release of the
2026 Ohio School Report Cards. The results show Ohio students are making significant gains in literacy, with statewide English language arts proficiency reaching a five-year high of 62.2%.
The results also show statewide math proficiency reached a five-year high, while attendance continues to improve and more Ohio students are demonstrating readiness for college, careers, the workforce, and military service.
Literacy Achievement Reaches Five-Year High
In 2023, Governor DeWine launched the
ReadOhio initiative, a statewide effort to raise literacy achievement. The 2025-2026 school year marked the first full year of implementation of instruction grounded in Science of Reading in Ohio schools.
The gains achieved over the past year mark an important milestone in the DeWine Administration’s efforts to strengthen literacy instruction for all Ohio students.
This year’s report cards also show English language arts proficiency increased across every student demographic group, showcasing the true statewide progress being made in improving reading achievement.
During
his 2026 State of the State Address, Governor DeWine announced the expansion of the ReadOhio coaching network, which now includes 140 coaches serving more than 200 schools, and the creation of new Science of Reading Instructional Implementation Teams, which are helping educators fully execute the Science of Reading in their classrooms.
This progress is also reaching children before they enter the K-12 classroom. Last year alone, the number of children demonstrating literacy readiness for kindergarten went up by 16,900 – an increase of 17.2% from the prior year.
Governor DeWine and First Lady Fran DeWine have made early childhood literacy a priority through their creation and statewide expansion of
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Ohio, which sends a free book in the mail every month to participating children from birth through age five, helping instill a love of books and reading from an early age. Since its statewide launch, the program has mailed 28 million books to Ohio children. Today, more than 430,000 children across the state receive a book every month.
Math Achievement Continues to Climb Statewide
For the 2025-2026 school year, mathematics proficiency reached 56.4% statewide. Like English language arts proficiency, this represents Ohio’s highest math proficiency level in five years.
Statewide improvements in English language arts and math are further illustrated on this year's Performance Index, with scores showing student growth in English language arts up 2.21 points since 2022 to 84.07 this year, and math achievement climbing 5.7 points since 2022 to 78.7 this year.
Class of 2025 Shows Gains in Postsecondary Readiness
Ohio’s Class of 2025 continues to show strong momentum in college, career, workforce, and military readiness. Over two-thirds of graduates earned at least one of the state’s 11 postsecondary readiness measures, marking the third consecutive year of statewide improvement.
Key highlights include:
- Technical skill proficiency continues to rise. In 2025, 25.4% of graduates achieved proficiency on three or more career-technical assessments, an increase from 22.3% in 2023.
- Work-based learning participation is expanding. The percentage of students earning the OhioMeansJobs Readiness Seal along with 250 hours work-based learning more than doubled, reaching 8.4% in 2025.
Ohio is also strengthening the value of industry-recognized credentials for students. Earlier this year, the Department released an updated list of high-value industry-recognized credentials, redesigned to ensure credentials are aligned with employer demand and support meaningful opportunities after graduation. The list was developed with feedback from more than 1,000 education, workforce, and business leaders.
Student Attendance Continues to Improve
For the fourth consecutive year, statewide absenteeism rates continued to decline, reflecting meaningful progress toward ensuring students are present and ready to learn. From 2021-2022 to this past school year, chronic absenteeism has decreased by 6.3%.
Over the past year alone, chronic absenteeism dropped from 25.1% to 23.9%. This amounts to an additional 3.7 million hours of learning for Ohio students.
Schools, families, and community partners across the state continue to build upon efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and address barriers that prevent regular attendance.
Ohio’s broader student wellness efforts also include increasing access to school-based health clinics in Ohio schools. Additionally, the Ohio Department of Health’s
OhioSEE program is providing eye care services for kindergarten through third grade. Together, these efforts and others ensure that more students are spending more time learning in the classroom.
Staying Informed about Ohio Schools
Everyone has a role in the success of Ohio schools. Community members are encouraged to learn more about what’s happening in their local schools. Talking with parents and neighbors, browsing school and district websites, and connecting with educators are among the ways to gain a complete understanding of students’ educational experiences.
Report Card Resources
The 2026 Ohio School Report Card Guides provide an overview and explanation of the key components of each type of report card. Links to the guides are available below:
Find the data for districts, schools, community schools, career technical planning districts, and schools that receive the dropout prevention and recovery report cards at
reportcard.education.ohio.gov.