The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Math. The lowest is 19% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Columbus Africentric Early College Es
Columbus Africentric Early College ES is a PreK through fifth-grade school in the Columbus City Schools District serving a neighborhood population predominantly composed of Black students. The school is part of a district in one of the fastest-growing metros in the United States, where Columbus proper has added residents steadily and the surrounding region continues to expand. That growth has brought property tax changes to families considering relocation: voters approved a lasting tax levy in November 2023 that raises revenue for pre-K expansion and permanent improvements, a meaningful ongoing cost consideration for homebuyers in the district.
Academic performance at Columbus Africentric Early College is below the midpoint relative to other schools in Franklin County. State testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows about half the enrollment meeting proficiency in mathematics; in English language arts, roughly one in three students met proficiency. Science proficiency was lower, with fewer than one in four students proficient. The math and English results place the school in the bottom quartile of Franklin County schools when proficiency across tested subjects is measured together. The school does not report a graduation rate, as it serves early grades only. Social studies data from 2016-17 showed very low proficiency at the sixth-grade level, though that snapshot is now nearly a decade old and the school's sixth grade would no longer be enrolled there under current grade spans.
The school serves about three hundred eighty students across seven grade levels from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with relatively balanced enrollment across those grades. The student population is approximately ninety percent Black, with small populations of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian or Native American/Alaska Native students, and no reported White enrollment. Free and reduced-price lunch participation data and English learner counts were not available in the enrollment data. Special education rates were similarly not provided.
Columbus sits in a mixed-use setting with distinct residential neighborhoods, downtown civic anchors, and Ohio State University as a separate campus district. The housing market in the school's zip code shows values and rents in moderate range relative to state and national benchmarks. The thirty-year mortgage rate and unemployment figures suggest a stable economic backdrop, though the region is in the middle of heavy multifamily construction that has concentrated in some submarkets more than others.
The district as a whole has undergone significant recent change. Beyond the 2023 levy, the Board of Education voted in December 2024 to close and consolidate five schools, including Broadleigh, Moler, West Broad, Buckeye Middle, and Columbus Alternative High, with implementation beginning at the end of the 2025-26 school year. In December 2025, facing state funding cuts, the district approved over fifty million dollars in additional budget reductions, including closure of four more schools, elimination of busing for K-8 students attending schools other than their assigned neighborhood or charter school, and substantial staffing cuts. These changes affect where families' children attend school and whether transportation is available. The district also shifted elementary literacy instruction to science of reading starting in 2021, training teachers in LETRS methods that now align with Ohio's 2024 statewide mandate.
For parents considering this school, the primary academic picture is one where proficiency levels are measurably below regional averages, particularly in reading and science. The school's name suggests an Africentric curriculum frame, though specific program details and course offerings were not available in the data provided. The peer environment is predominantly Black, reflecting the school's neighborhood. Growth in the wider Columbus metro brings both opportunity and ongoing budget strain to the district, with closures and consolidations now underway. A parent may want to look into the school's specific curriculum approach, current staffing and class sizes in light of recent cuts, and how the planned consolidations and boundary changes will affect this particular school's enrollment or student assignments for coming years.
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