Olean Senior High School, Olean NY

Original Research by School Decision on Olean Senior High School

Olean Senior High School serves grades 8 through 12 as a single campus in a small Cattaraugus County city with a long presence and shifting economic base. The enrollment of roughly mid-range size for a rural New York secondary school sits at modest economic pressure, with about half the students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students identifying as multiracial, Black, Hispanic, or Asian. Data on English learner and special education populations was not available.

The school's 2024-25 state testing results in mathematics, English language arts, and science show proficiency rates well below both the statewide median and the typical range among Cattaraugus County districts. Across the three tested subjects at eighth grade, roughly one in three students demonstrated proficiency in math and science; fewer than one in three reached proficiency in ELA. These results place the school in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency relative to county-served schools. Participation rates in testing ranged from the low to mid-range, suggesting the testing numbers reflect actual engagement gaps as well as achievement gaps; a parent may want to look into attendance and test-taking climate with the school directly. No state graduation rate data for the school was available in the data provided.

The school sits on West Sullivan Street within the Oak Hill Park Historic District. The district has just approved major capital improvements across all four schools through a May 2025 voter-passed bond and capital propositions, with the state covering roughly a third of the cost and facilities work now underway. This multi-year renovation cycle will shape the physical learning environment students encounter over the next several years. The district has held its property tax levy flat across multiple years, with no increase proposed for 2025-26 or 2026-27, a stability that reflects heavy reliance on state aid and matters for families considering the area.

Olean itself is a small city with a mixed downtown and dispersed residential neighborhoods, undergoing slow population decline but significant downtown reinvestment through adaptive reuse projects and state revitalization funding. Manufacturing, healthcare, and education anchor the local economy. The downtown North Union Street corridor is highly walkable; outside that core, car dependence is standard, especially given heavy winter snowfall. Transit exists but is limited. Housing values are low relative to state and national benchmarks, making the area affordable, though the broader economy shows modest headwinds.

For families considering this school, the immediate questions center on whether the low proficiency results reflect the school's teaching and support systems, whether incoming academic skill gaps drive the numbers, and what tutoring or intervention systems exist. The renovation underway may improve facilities and morale. The school's placement in a small, economically stressed but reinvesting city means strong local community ties but fewer extracurricular and employment pathways within walking distance; suburban or larger-city options would offer different trade-offs in peer environment and program breadth. The school appears to serve a community dealing with real academic headwinds; understanding the district's response plan and the school's current initiatives would be essential before enrollment.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

75-79%Cohort of 132 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Ela	150	77.0%
Social Studies	139	81.0%
Science	103	74.0%
Math	63	73.0%

Math

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 32% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 25% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 33% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolOLEAN CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 8Lower-income18%Higher-income39%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income38%6 pp gap