The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in English language arts. The lowest is 73% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Stevenson Elementary School
Stevenson Elementary serves grades three through five in Heath, a mixed retail and residential suburb east of Columbus anchored by aerospace manufacturing and a major commercial corridor. The school enrolls a small student body, the vast majority White, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school among families of modest to moderate income.
On state assessments, Stevenson's proficiency rates cluster in the mid-to-high range across subjects. In English language arts, about three-quarters of students scored at proficient or above, and roughly the same share met proficiency in math. Science proficiency sits just under that mark. All students participated in testing. When compared against the other districts in Licking County, Stevenson's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a solid position that reflects consistent, grade-level-appropriate performance. Because only one year of recent data was available, trend information is not present; a parent interested in learning whether this performance is stable or changing would want to ask the school directly.
The school's setting is straightforward: a regular public elementary, no magnet or charter designation, located on Cynthia Street in Heath. Data on school discipline, class sizes, special education enrollment, English learner services, and attendance patterns was not available. State testing does not cover social studies until higher grades, so information on that subject is not current. The school is part of the Heath City School District, which serves the town's four schools—Garfield Elementary, Stevenson Elementary, Heath Middle School, and Heath High School—with about a thousand students total across the district.
The district itself is navigating a shift in its facility outlook. In March 2024, voters rejected a bond measure that would have built a new elementary school to replace aging buildings, the first levy failure the district has experienced in decades. Three of the district's elementary buildings are roughly five decades old. Following that defeat, the district retired its high school bond debt in late 2024, which reduces the property-tax burden on homeowners and creates borrowing capacity for future building projects, but families should expect the district to bring another facilities request in the coming years. In the nearer term, a five-mill substitute operating levy approved in May 2023 replaces two emergency levies without raising property-tax rates, providing stable day-to-day funding for materials, maintenance, and utilities. The 2023 county reappraisal raised assessed property values in the Heath City Schools taxing area, a change that affects tax bills starting in the 2024-2025 school year and will be material for homebuyers entering the market.
Heath itself is a small city shaped by retail and manufacturing rather than a traditional downtown. The commercial spine runs along Hebron Road around Indian Mound Mall; residential areas contain ranch-style and split-level homes typical of mid-century suburban development. A new mixed-use downtown district is under construction on vacant farmland behind the mall, with initial openings expected this year. The city is home to the Central Ohio Aerospace and Technology Center, a former Air Force base where Boeing operates as the major employer. Public life centers on parks and the Licking River walkway rather than a walkable streetscape; families rely on driving for most errands. Columbus is roughly a twenty-to-thirty-minute drive away.
In terms of who Stevenson fits, it is a straightforward neighborhood school serving families established in Heath's residential areas, with proficiency in foundational subjects and a population that reflects the city's broader character. The school building is aging and has been through a district-wide planning shift tied to the failed levy. Parents weighing Stevenson would do well to understand the district's current facilities situation and to ask the school about any deferred maintenance issues and how special services—speech, special education, English-learner support—are resourced in an older building.
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