This news outlet compared proficiency test score data — English and math scores from grades 3-8 — from the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce for 58 private schools and 24 local school districts across the region.
Our analysis found:
• The public school districts in the analysis with the lowest proficiency scores were Dayton, Trotwood, Springfield and Middletown. Of the 17 private schools located in those districts, all but one private school outscored the public school districtwide average in English Language Arts (ELA) and math.
• In higher-performing districts like Beavercreek, Centerville, Mason and Springboro, only one of the nine private schools outscored the public districts in ELA and math.
• Some of the public school districts with the highest voucher enrollments outperform private schools where parents are sending their kids. Behind Dayton, Lakota Local Schools has the second-highest EdChoice enrollment in the region (2,043 students in the 2023-2024 school year), and Centerville ranked fourth (848 students).
One caveat: The tests given to public and private school students aren’t exactly the same. Private school voucher students in grades 3-8 are required to take either a state test or one of four tests that the state has approved for grades 3-8.
Plus, while private schools in urban areas sometimes outperform the districtwide average, individual public schools also outperform the district.
The percentage of students who scored proficient across Dayton Public Schools, for example, was 30% for ELA and 21% for math. But Eastmont Elementary scored 57% proficient in ELA and 53% in math. River’s Edge, a Montessori school that attracts students from across the district, scored 57% in ELA and 38% in math. This is better than many private schools in Dayton.
Beth Lawson, spokeswoman for School Choice Ohio, which advocates for private and charter schools and more choices, said the variation in academic outcomes is not surprising.
“Just as public schools show a range of performance, so do private schools,” Lawson said. “What’s important is that when families have access to options, they can choose the environment that best supports their child.”
Some Ohio lawmakers have pushed unsuccessfully for more accountability to measure the effectiveness of public and private schools. Proposals to create report cards for private schools similar to what’s required of public schools failed to get a floor vote in the last General Assembly.
“You have to be able to make an apples to apples comparison, and the only way to do that is if the students are having the same tests presented to them, if there is the same level of accountability and transparency into those schools,” said Rep. Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati. “This is not about attacking vouchers.”
Private school voucher usage surges
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce projections show EdChoice Expansion voucher use at private schools is expected to rise by 15% in the 2025-2026 school year and by an additional 7.5% in the 2026-2027 school year, according to documents obtained by this news outlet.
In the 2023-2024 school year, there was a huge increase in the number of students taking Ohio vouchers after the state expanded eligibility. According to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce, which oversees vouchers, in 2023, 23,272 students were enrolled in the state’s EdChoice Expansion voucher program. In 2024, 88,095 students were enrolled – a 283.3% increase.
A Dayton Daily News analysis last year found many of the newly participating students were children who had already been attending private schools, but instead of their parents paying the bill, the state voucher now paid all or a majority of the cost.
In Ohio, vouchers are now universally available for all students. There are several kinds of vouchers available.
For students who qualify for the Autism or Jon Peterson Special Needs scholarships, up to $30,000 is available. But these two types of scholarships are much less common, with 6,091 students using an Autism scholarship in 2024-2025 and 8,767 students using Jon Peterson in the same year, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce.
The EdChoice, EdChoice Expansion and Cleveland scholarships are much more common. The Cleveland scholarship only serves students in that city, and about 8,363 students used it in 2024-2025, according to ODEW. The EdChoice Scholarship is only available for students who would otherwise be in “underperforming” schools, and about 42,640 students used it across the state last school year.
By far the most used scholarship available is the EdChoice Expansion Scholarship, which at first gave the same private school funding option to students from low-income families, regardless of how their home public school was graded. Then it was expanded in 2023 so all families in Ohio qualify for at least 10% of the voucher. Nearly 101,000 students across the state used an EdChoice Expansion scholarship last school year, according to ODEW.
All of those scholarships cost the state nearly $1 billion last school year.
Limits, drivers of test scores
Experts and school choice advocates say sending kids to schools with high-performing students leads to better outcomes, though a students’ situation at home is more indicative of the outcome than where they go to school.
Stéphane Lavertu, a professor at Ohio State University’s John Glen College of Public Affairs, studies education and policy in Ohio. He said research shows the best predictor of how a student will perform on a state test is what their family’s household income is.
“So whenever we compare performance index or proficiency rates or average scale scores or whatever your metric is, you have to ask yourself, are the students in one school different than the school students in the other school in terms of their income?” Lavertu said.
Ideally, the best way to compare student outcomes would be getting otherwise identical students go to two different schools, compare their progress over years and see their outcomes. However, that’s not practical.
Another way to compare the schools would be if private schools were scored the same way public schools are, with report cards that can be accessed by the public. In the fall of 2026, in addition to proficiency data, ODEW will also have a progress measure for some private schools who accept vouchers.
What we have right now are private and public school test results, along with a body of research that has shown mixed results for school vouchers.
“I think it’s comparing apples to oranges for a couple of reasons,” said Aaron Churchill, Ohio policy director for the Fordham Institute, an advocate for school choice.
Churchill noted it’s not clear what test each student is taking, and taking a different test does not allow for a direct comparison between scores.
He also noted that the types of students who are taking each test are also likely to be different, even between public school districts. Students in wealthier schools are more likely to have wealthier parents who have time to be involved in their child’s life, while a public school parent may not have as much money or time.
“In Dayton Public Schools, they serve more disadvantaged kids,” Churchill said. “In Oakwood, they serve more advantaged kids.”
What can test scores show?
Lavertu noted that many of the academic studies that work to control the differences between students who are on vouchers and in public schools do not show vouchers improve test scores.
“There are a lot of studies of private schools in recent years that have shown that voucher programs lead to reductions in test scores,” Lavertu said.
He noted that school choice advocates argue that increased test scores don’t always lead to other desirable outcomes, like college achievement. An April study looking at Ohio students found students on vouchers were more likely to get into and graduate from college. Another previous study found charter schools could increase test scores, but did not lead to any rise in income in the long term.
But Lavertu said test scores can be connected to desirable outcomes, such as increased math scores on national exams leading to better long-term economic outcomes.
“There’s some research that still shows... states that have bigger increases in their (National Assessment of Educational Progress) scores experience greater increases in income over time, that it leads to economic growth,” he said.
Low-performing private schools
The region’s lowest-performing private school was Nightingale Montessori in Springfield.
Of the 64 students there on vouchers, only seven scored proficient in math (11%) and 15 scored proficient in ELA (23%). This made the school the only one in Clark County to test below Springfield City Schools, which had a 21% proficiency rate in math and 32% in ELA.
Nightingale Montessori founder Nancy Nightingale Schwab said the school prioritizes “deep conceptual learning over rote memorization.”
Schwab told the story of a student who, during a standardized math test, used a Montessori “finger board” to find the answer. The teacher reminded him that using materials during a standardized test is considered cheating. The student, confused, said the teacher previously told them to look up answers they don’t know. The teacher said while that’s true, he could not in this situation.
“Standardized tests are designed to measure memorized facts, not methods or learning processes,” she said. “This illustrates the key distinction: Montessori education emphasizes mastery through experience, and while this approach may yield lower test scores in the short term, it fosters deeper understanding, independent thinking, and lifelong learning.”
St. Benedict the Moor in Dayton had 98 students take the tests. Its 11% proficiency score in math was lower than Dayton Public Schools — the only measurement Dayton outperformed a private school in — but its 35% in ELA was higher than DPS.
Last year as it celebrated 100 years operating, the interim principal, Carolyn Day, told this news outlet that there would be some curriculum changes to try to get scores up. Day said there are many students who come to the school who don’t speak English and some who are two grades behind.
The school did not reply to a request for comment.
DPS had a proficiency score of 21% in math and 30% in English.
The school that scored the highest in Dayton was Dominion Academy, which had 81% of students at or above proficient on the ELA test the school administered, and 69% proficient in math.
The highest-performing private schools in the region were in wealthier suburbs. The highest-performing in ELA was Mother Teresa Catholic in Butler County, which outperformed Lakota Local Schools. The highest-performing private school in math was St. Susanna in Warren County, which outperformed Mason City Schools.
Public schools respond
Dayton Public Schools officials noted that public schools serve all students, no matter who they are.
“According to our 2023/2024 data, DPS had 360 students identified as homeless, 592 foster children, 378 children living in group homes, 224 justice-involved youth, and 2,600 English learners from more than 60 countries,” said David Lawrence, district superintendent, and associate superintendent Lisa Minor, in a statement.
The district said they would be “curious to know” how many of those different student populations are enrolled in private schools in the Dayton area.
“We would like the community and families to know that attending the Dayton Public Schools provides your children with a global experience, as we have students from around the world, and many of our students are provided with unique experiences not offered in other districts,” Minor and Lawrence said. “One example would be the extensive college and career opportunities at all of our high schools as part of the new Innovative Academies of Dayton Public Schools.”
Springfield City Schools spokeswoman Cherie Moore said parents should be concerned about learning, but they should consider that public and private schools have different rules, standards and disclosures they need to make. Springfield City Schools has a wider variety of students, many of whom have a below-Ohio average family income.
“The district has identified root causes, set annual, subgroup‑disaggregated SMART targets, and aligned evidence‑based strategies with transparent progress‑monitoring and braided federal/state funding,” Moore said. “The work ahead is clear, codified in the 2026 One Plan and the 2025–2030 Strategic Plan, and reported publicly.”
She said the district is focused on welcoming all learners, teaching with evidence-based instruction, making attending school part of the culture, and being transparent with the public.
Middletown and Hamilton schools did not respond to requests for comment
‘Keep folks honest’
While academics is often a strong draw for families to send their kids to specific schools, other factors may come into play.
“Parents choose schools for a variety of reasons beyond test scores — such as school safety, values alignment, individualized attention, and community,” Lawson said. “For many families, private schools offer a more supportive or mission-driven environment that they believe will serve their child best in the long run.”
The Cincinnati Archdiocese, which runs many of the local private schools in the area, said factors like perseverance, self-discipline, and kindness can be better predictors of long-term success.
“We strive to create environments where learning and formation are not separate but deeply integrated,” said Jennifer Schack, a spokeswoman for the archdiocese. “With this foundation, and with the support of parents and guardians, we aim to help shape individuals who become good citizens of our communities, and God willing, future citizens of heaven.”
Public schools emphasized the many options that they are required to offer because they get public funding, such as support for unhoused youth and families, accepting all students no matter what their race, gender, creed or ability, and programming like career pathways that are not usually available in private schools.
“Unlike several of the private schools mentioned, DPS accepts all students with no admission criteria, application, or assessment,” Minor and Lawrence said. “Many of the schools on the list require these processes and also require application fees, which limit certain populations from even enrolling.”
Lavertu said it’s important to get as much information about any school, public or private, as possible.
“A really important thing is if you’re going to have public funds funding something, we need to provide information to parents so that they can keep folks honest,” he said. “And even with a lot of regulation, sometimes people do dishonest things, even in traditional public schools.”
He and Churchill said if parents are concerned about how their kids’ school is performing, parents should bring it up.
“Even if you think that we’re putting too much emphasis on achievement tests, everyone should be able to agree that if a child cannot read well after third grade, they are in deep trouble,” Lavertu said.
About the Author
