New Albany-Plain Local Schools earned a top 5-star rating on the 2025-26 Ohio School Report Cards released Tuesday, Sept. 15, while Gahanna-Jefferson Public Schools held steady at 4 stars.

Both districts matched their prior-year marks. New Albany-Plain Local again received five stars, as did Bexley, Upper Arlington, Grandview Heights and Olentangy, NBC4 reported. Only 61 of Ohio's 607 rated districts reached the 5-star level, according to the state summary. New Albany-Plain Local was one of four Franklin County districts in that group, the Columbus Dispatch reported.

Gahanna-Jefferson was among several central Ohio districts that maintained their ratings, ABC6 reported. A 4-star rating means the district exceeded state expectations. Statewide, more than 90% of districts earned three stars or higher.

New Albany-Plain Local Superintendent Jason Fine sent a message to families on the day of the release. "We clearly have strengths and opportunities for continuous improvement, but the results earned must be celebrated," Fine said. No public response from Gahanna-Jefferson administrators appeared in published reports as of Tuesday.

The report cards grade districts across six components: achievement, progress, gap closing, graduation, early literacy, and college, career, workforce and military readiness. Achievement and progress each carry 25% of the overall weight. The remaining four components each count for 12.5%.

Statewide, English language arts proficiency hit 62.2% and math proficiency rose to 56.4%, both five-year highs, the Dispatch reported. Chronic absenteeism fell to 23.9% from 25.1%, the fourth straight year of decline and the lowest rate since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2025-26 report card is the first to reflect a full year under the state's Science of Reading standards, which began phasing in during the 2024-25 school year.

The New Albany-Plain Local Board of Education previewed preliminary report card data at its Aug. 24 meeting. Component-level scores for each local district were not included in published reports. Families can look up individual breakdowns on the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce's report card website.