The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Evanston Academy
Evanston Academy is a public elementary school in Cincinnati serving prekindergarten through sixth grade, located on Fairfax Avenue. It is part of Cincinnati Public Schools, a district that recently renewed its operating levy for the next decade and adopted a Science of Reading approach to early literacy instruction districtwide.
The school's enrollment is small, sitting at under several hundred students. The student body is predominantly Black, with a much smaller representation from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility and special populations were not available. The school draws from a Cincinnati neighborhood where housing values have remained relatively stable in recent years, though the broader Hamilton County market shows modest price declines and softening demand compared to a year ago.
On state testing, Evanston Academy's results show mixed performance. In English language arts at grades three through eight, proficiency sits in the low-to-middle range for the county. Mathematics proficiency is notably weaker, falling below where the county median sits on the comparison set. Science proficiency, tested for a smaller subset of students, is also in the lower range. On the school's proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades, performance falls below the county midpoint among the district's schools. This positioning suggests the school faces academic challenges that parents may want to look into further with school leadership, particularly around mathematics instruction and whether targeted interventions are in place for students not meeting grade-level standards. Social studies data from several years ago is not current enough to speak to present conditions.
The district has made significant structural changes heading into the current school year. It closed a substantial budget gap by reducing classroom positions and support staff, and shifted school health services in-house, which may affect the availability of athletic trainers and school nurses. For families considering Evanston Academy, these staffing reductions are part of the broader context of the district's current fiscal position, which stabilized somewhat after voters renewed the operating levy last November.
Evanston Academy sits in a dense urban neighborhood with walkable access to downtown, Over-the-Rhine, and the riverfront entertainment district. Cincinnati's civic life centers on downtown parks, a large library system, and bus and streetcar transit. The city's economy is anchored by major employers including Procter & Gamble, Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, and healthcare systems. Growth in the metro area is moderate but development activity is active, particularly in downtown and fast-growing outer suburbs, which may shape neighborhood dynamics over time.
The school itself operates as a regular public school within a district actively pursuing reading science training and structured literacy curricula in the early grades. However, state testing data does not yet show strong proficiency outcomes at Evanston Academy specifically. For families evaluating this school, academic performance in the foundational subjects and the school's specific instructional supports merit direct conversation with the principal.
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