Academic Progress Report

The Diocese of Cleveland’s Keeping the Faith strategic plan for Catholic elementary education calls for strengthening academic excellence through a number of strategies, including the sharing of academic performance information with increased transparency.

Catholic School Students and Ohio’s Public Schools

Below are the rates of proficiency for all students in grades 3 through 8 English Language Arts and Mathematics as well as grades 5 and 8 Science. 

Key Observations

• In 2023-24, Cleveland’s Catholic elementary schools outperformed Ohio’s public schools in every grade level, including 13 of the 14 tested subjects/grades reported on the Ohio School Report Cards.

• Throughout the 8 counties of Northeast Ohio in 2023-24, 23,822 students attended grades K-8 in Catholic schools, of whom 67.7% were White, 16.7% Black, 7.0% Hispanic/Latino, 5.3% multiracial, 2.1% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, and 0.1% American Indian/Alaska Native; 21% qualified for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program, and 8% had one or more diagnosed disabilities. In these schools, which welcome students of all faith traditions, 65% of students were Catholic.

• Across Ohio’s public schools, over 1.6 million students attended, of whom 65.7% were White, 17.0% Black, 7.9% Hispanic/Latino, 6.3% multiracial, 2.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 0.1% American Indian/Alaska Native; 55.3% were classified as economic disadvantaged, and 17.1% had one or more diagnosed disabilities.

Catholic Schools Longitudinal Performance

In 2023-24, Catholic elementary schools educated just slightly more students than the year prior (23,495), with a mostly similar demographic profile, and produced similar academic results.  

Individual Student Performance

Beyond this summary information, parents and guardians of Catholic school students regularly receive individualized reports after each administration of the NWEA MAP Growth assessments. Each report displays a student's achievement and growth percentile from his/her most recent MAP Growth assessment, the national average achievement, as well the student’s historic achievement and projected proficiencies in relation to Ohio state tests, the ACT, and SAT.  Resources on the NWEA website provide more information on interpreting these reports.

Technical Notes

For Catholic school students, English Language Arts proficiency is calculated using NWEA MAP Growth Reading assessment, and Mathematics is calculated using the NWEA MAP Growth Mathematics assessment or the equivalent score on the Algebra I or Geometry assessments.

Ohio’s proficiency benchmarks by subject and grade level are indicated in the Ohio Linking Study.