By Dawn Scotland
The Truth Reporter
The Ohio Department of Education rated Toledo Public Schools at two out of five stars for the 2025-2026 school year. While this is the second consecutive year that the district has received this rating, that is below state standards. TPS leadership, however, is encouraged by current trends and optimistic about future performance under the Transformation 2.0 Plan.
Ohio School Report Cards are required by law to provide parents, caregivers, community members, educators and policymakers information about district and school performance — to celebrate successes and identify areas for improvement.
The information provides transparent reporting to drive local conversations on continuous improvement and identify schools that need intensive support. The report cards establish high expectations for the education community while showing progress toward positive outcomes for all Ohio students. (source: https://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/)
Ohio Department of Education Metrics
The Ohio Department of Education rates districts annually based off of six criteria from one to five stars in ½ star increments. The metrics are described on the department’s website as:
- Achievement – how well students performed on state tests.
- Progress – the growth students are making based on their past performance.
- Gap Closing – the reduction in educational gaps for student groups.
- Graduation Rate – the percentage of students that graduate within 4 or 5 years.
- Early Literacy – reading improvement and proficiency for students in kindergarten through third grade.
- CCWM Readiness (Career, College, Workforce and Military Readiness) – how prepared Ohio’s students are for future opportunities.
The overall rating a district receives is comprised of these six rated components.
Toledo Public Schools 25-26 Rating
Toledo Public Schools received a two-star rating which is the lowest star rating received for districts this school year. Six school districts out of 607 across the state received this rating, which falls into the “needs support” category and deemed below state standards. Dayton Public Schools and Lima City School District both received two-star ratings alongside TPS.
Comparatively, surrounding school districts Ottawa Hills and Perrysburg received the highest rating at 5 stars; Sylvania, Anthony Wanye and Bowling Green received 4.5; Springfield Local and Rossford 3.5 ratings; Maumee and Oregon both saw .5 decreases this year and are now also at 3.5 star ratings and Washington Local received three stars.
Toledo Public Schools ratings across the six criteria this year are:
- Achievement – TPS Rating: 2 Stars “Needs support to meet state standards in academic achievement.”
- Progress – TPS Rating: 2 Stars – “Significant evidence that the district fell short of student growth expectations.”
- Gap Closing – TPS Rating: 2 Stars “Needs support to meet state standards in closing educational gaps.”
- Graduation Rate – TPS Rating: 1 Star “Needs significant support to meet state standards in graduation rates.”
- Early Literacy – TPS Rating: 1 Star “Needs significant support to meet state standards in early literacy (K-3).
- CCWM Readiness – TPS Rating: 2 Stars “Needs support to meet state standards in college, career, workforce, and military readiness.”
Currently TPS has an enrollment of 20,506 across 56 schools. The 4-Year Graduation Rate is 80.7% while Chronic Absenteeism Rate is 39.8%. (source:reportcard.education.ohio.gov/)
TPS Current Trends and Future Goals
While the district overall received a 2.0 star rating, Toledo Public School leadership is optimistic about current trends within the district that they believe will translate into future overall successes. Superintendent Romules Durant, EdD, highlights improvements in graduation rates and College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness that he says are attributed to an increase in career tech programs.
This year, Toledo Public Schools has the highest graduation rate in the school system’s history according to Durant. The senior class of 2026 had a graduation rate of 83.6%.
Additionally, the graduation rate is also the highest historically for African Americans. Black students are the largest demographic in Toledo Public Schools. African American students in TPS have displayed the highest 4-Year graduation rate growth of all demographic groups since Durant’s administration. This year black students gradated at a rate of 86.4 percent. That number has climbed from a 59.7 percent graduation rate when Durant first became superintendent in the 2013/14 school year representing a 26.7 percent increase.
He says that this success is partly because of career technical training programs that engage students in their fields of interest. Students enrolled in a career tech program graduate at 94.4 percent rate which is higher than the overall graduation average.
“Keeping kids engaged into a career opportunity gets them across the finish line in four years,” Durant stated. Non-career tech students graduate at a 74.2 percent rate compared to their counterparts that are in career tech representing a difference of about 20 percent.
Toledo Public Schools currently boast over 30 technical programs across various schools from aviation technology to cosmetology, animal science and even AI. A full list of career technical programs can be found on the TPS website. The trajectory for career tech starts in the fifth grade.
TPS is undergoing its Transformation 2.0 Plan that converts area schools into career tech schools. This year among other changes the former Bowsher High School includes seventh and eighth grades and is now The Bowsher Arts and Science Academy. The goal is to have all students tied to a career tech program at TPS and have a 100 percent graduation rate. Within the class of 2026 over half of the seniors were in career tech programs.
College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness has also seen an increase. In the 2021/22 school year the number of CCWM Readiness was 218. This year that number is 784. The number of students has more than tripled in three years.
“We’re seeing a large number of kids now who are graduating, prepared either to go to college, either by having college credits or ACT/SAT remediation free, or have industry credentials that go directly into the workforce,” said James Gault, chief of Educational Development, “So those are numbers that we are moving up within that category. We’re still at two stars in that category. But we are getting close to three stars, and as we continue to move in this direction, we’re going to see our stars increase,” he added. He notes that changes may take some years to materialize into ratings.
Specialized magnet schools Toledo Early College and Toledo Technology Academy of Engineering both earned top 5-star rating. Toledo Pre-Medical and Health Science Academy and Toledo Aerospace and Natural Science Academy earned a 4.5-star ratings. Area high schools including Scott, Rogers and Waite and others received two stars.
To view Toledo Public Schools’ report card visit the Ohio Department of Education website.