“The top-ranked schools have a high rate of students who scored above expectations in math, science and reading state assessments, passed an array of college-level exams and graduated in four years,” according to U.S. News & World Report.
According to a statement from Ross officials, “Ross High School was the top-rated Butler County school and was the only county high school to crack the top 80 in Ohio on US News & World Report’s 2023 Best High Schools List.”
“This report reviewed nearly 25,000 high schools across the country and Ross ranked in the top 8% in Ohio and top 9% nationally,” said school officials.
The top county academic rating is nothing new for the 2,800-student, largely rural school system west of Hamilton. For years the high school – and the district’s four feeder schools – have consistently been rated by the Ohio Department’s annual state report cards as the overall best in the county and among some of the top in southwest Ohio.
In recent years, however, Ross has struggled financially more so than any other local public school system as it has suffered three straight school levy defeats and has fallen into state-designated “Fiscal Caution” due to series of projected operating budget deficits and changes in state funding levels.
In the last two school years, Ross has made historically deep cuts in teaching ranks and student class offerings while raising student sports and other extracurricular fees.
Originally, Ross officials had considered putting a fourth school property tax issue on the coming November ballot but later backed away from that course of action.
Brian Martin, principal of Ross High School, said his school’s streak of high ratings reflects the focus on academic achievement in the district’s lower grades.
“There is no magic to our success. We have two excellent elementary schools and an intermediate school that feed into a great middle school, which in turn feeds into an outstanding high school,” said Martin.
“We have a dedicated staff teaching great kids who are supported by parents and a community that value and recognize the importance of education.”
Top 100 in Ohio
On the list of the Top 100 high schools in Ohio, the following in Butler County ranked above 100:
#80: Ross High School
#95: Lakota East High School
#99: Lakota West High School
The U.S. News & World Report rankings look at 741 high schools in Ohio, including public, magnet, charter and STEM. To find your district, go online to usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.
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