What Ohio state report card doesn't show about Columbus City Schools

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- According to the state, Columbus City Schools aren’t doing well. Graduation rates have received failing grades. The system the state uses to evaluate schools is supposed to show the community information about school performance.

However, NBC4 Investigates found that the system doesn’t show the full picture. Despite receiving a one-star rating in the 2024 state report card, CCS graduation rates are actually higher than before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data lags one year behind, so we got the data that you will see on next year’s report card. Despite the improvement we saw, it may not be enough to change the rating. NBC4 Investigates spoke with two seniors at Linden-McKinley who are just months away from graduating.

"I just want to get into the best college so I can be successful in life," Linden-McKinley senior Ty'Janae McCarrel said. Ty’Janae and Desaray Williams are both the oldest children in their families and will be the first women in their homes to graduate on time.

"I'm going to be the one to set a standard for them, and I want them to achieve that standard that I held up to them," McCarrel said. Data from the class of 2024 shows a higher percentage of students than before the pandemic are reaching graduation. Virtual learning increased absentee rates and lowered grades and attention spans.

"Post-pandemic, our students are rebounding, our graduation rate is stronger than ever before," CCS Superintendent Dr. Angela Chapman said. At Linden-McKinley the graduation rate jumped from 2023 to 2024: it now sits at 76%. The 2024 district average is at 83%, up from 81% in 2019.

"There's still much more work to be done. We certainly share a sense of urgency in making sure that we are improving student outcomes," Chapman said. The work: teams focus on students throughout the year. That means making sure they show up, turn in homework and earn the credits they need.

"I think one of the key issues for us has been focusing on a student's pathway all the way through high school from when they start all the way through and tracking to make sure the students stay on track throughout that process," CCS Chief of Strategy and Performance Dr. Russell Brown said. 

However, the way the state rates school districts might have you thinking something else. The rating system is out of five stars: five means significantly exceeds standards, three means meets standards. CCS received one star for its 2023 graduation rate. That means it was less than 84%: 78 percent in 2023.

However, NBC4 Investigates found that in 2024 about one-third of CCS high schools had above a 90% graduation rate. One had an 84% graduation rate. The rest, 14 in total, fell into the one-star category, bringing down the district average. Again, Linden-McKinley falls into that category, but students like Desaray and Ty’Janae are pushing the number higher each year.

"That is the scale. That is the rating, we honor it, we respect it. But at the same time, if we just stay there in the star rating, it doesn't celebrate the progress that's being done," Dr. Chapman said. NBC4 Investigates wanted to see just how much progress was being made, so we looked at the data that will be on next year’s state report card.

There is an almost 5% increase from 2023 to 2024 in the overall graduation rate. 83.2% of the class of 2024 graduated, just 0.8% away from two stars. The class of 2024 has the highest graduation rate going back to 2018, but on next year’s report card, it will look like nothing has changed.

However, a lot has changed in McCarrel’s home. "My mom never graduated high school, but she's working on it this year. She said she wants to graduate with me," McCarrel said. Williams is pushing herself and setting an example for her younger siblings. "I just push myself my mom is pushing me too, cause she didn't graduate on time, so she wants me to graduate on time. So I feel like if I do that, I achieve something. So my siblings can look at me," Linden-McKinley senior said Williams.

65% of all CCS high schools saw an increase in graduation rate from 2023 to 2024 or remained the same. 35% saw a decrease.