Cambridge Primary School, Cambridge OH

Original Research by School Decision on Cambridge Primary School

Cambridge Primary School serves kindergarten through second grade in the small Appalachian county seat of Cambridge, Ohio. The school enrolls a small cohort of students across three grade levels, with the majority of enrollment from white students and a notably small share from students of color. Racial and ethnic composition data shows that the student body is predominantly white, with very small counts of Asian, Black, and Hispanic students, and a modest share identifying as two or more races.

The school feeds into a district structure where Cambridge City Schools operates separate buildings for primary (K-2), intermediate (3-5), middle, and high school grades. This means families here are accustomed to grade-band transitions as their children advance through the system.

State testing results are available only for grades 3 through 5, so Cambridge Primary itself does not have state-assessment data for its students. However, the intermediate school building that serves grades 3-5 shows a mixed picture of proficiency across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, fifth-graders perform well, but proficiency dips notably in fourth-grade math. Third-grade results show mid-range proficiency in both subjects. Science proficiency in fifth grade is moderate, and social studies results for fourth grade are solid. The pattern suggests uneven performance across grades and subjects, with some strength in upper-grade language arts but weaker footing in middle-grade mathematics. A parent may want to explore with the school what instructional approaches are in place to build consistency and address the math proficiency gap in fourth grade.

The wider district context shows that Cambridge Primary sits in a county with four districts. On a proficiency index measuring overall performance across tested subjects and grades, the intermediate school building's results place it in the top quartile among Guernsey County districts, indicating that Cambridge City Schools compares favorably to its peer districts in the county, despite the grade-level variation.

Cambridge itself is a historic downtown anchored by U.S. Route 40, the old National Road, with brick buildings, the National Museum of Cambridge Glass, and antique shops defining its character. The city sits at the junction of Interstates 70 and 77, with manufacturing (Colgate-Palmolive, U.S. Bridge), healthcare (Southeastern Ohio Regional Medical Center), and retail forming the economic base. Population is essentially flat to slightly declining. Housing values are substantially below both state and national benchmarks, making the area relatively affordable. Economic conditions in the county remain modest, with unemployment and median household income reflecting a working-class community.

The school operates in a small residential city where civic life centers on Cambridge City Park and the seasonal Dickens Victorian Village downtown installation. There is no local public transit; families rely on personal vehicles. The setting is decidedly small-town and rural-edged, with growth driven more by industrial expansion along the interstate corridor than residential development inside the city.

Free-and-reduced-price-lunch counts, special education and English learner enrollment figures, and recent district-level changes were not available in the data, so a parent may want to contact the school directly about those details and any strategic initiatives underway.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · district not reported

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 483%

School 83% · district not reported

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 557%

School 57% · district not reported

▲ 16 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 363%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 471%

School 71% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 586%

School 86% · district not reported

▲ 21 pts above state median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 480%

School 80% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median

This schoolCambridge City, 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 3Lower-income58%Higher-income100%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income75%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income84%Higher-income100%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income65%Higher-income100%35 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income84%Higher-income75%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income100%47 pp gap