The top reported proficiency rate is 72% in Social studies. The lowest is 60% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Anna Marie Ayers Elementary School
Anna Marie Ayers Elementary School is the lower elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Martins Ferry, a small industrial city on the Ohio River in southeastern Ohio. The school enrolls a substantial number of students across its grade bands, with a student population that is predominantly white and includes a significant share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic conditions in the broader community.
The school is located in Martins Ferry, which is the most populous city in Belmont County and sits within the Wheeling, West Virginia metro area. The city retains a compact walkable grid on its upper plateau with local shops and civic institutions, but has experienced long-term population decline as its manufacturing and river-port industries closed over past decades. Housing values in the area are substantially below state and national benchmarks. The regional economy has centered historically on healthcare and manufacturing, though the area's main hospital has faced repeated closures and ownership changes in recent years. Against this backdrop, the Martins Ferry City School District itself faces significant financial pressure. In December 2024, the state required the district to implement a financial recovery plan to address a projected deficit. The district approved a reduction in force affecting roughly a third of its workforce beginning in the 2025-26 school year, with cuts spanning support, administrative, and teaching positions. The district carries ongoing debt obligations that will extend decades into the future. A property tax proposal that might have limited the depth of cuts failed in early 2025, signaling that families should expect further revenue pressures and possible ballot levies ahead.
For students tested in grades three and four, Anna Marie Ayers shows mixed academic performance. In math, proficiency rates align near the midpoint among districts in Belmont County. In English language arts, the school's proficiency sits below the midpoint for the county. Both subjects show full test participation and measurable average scale scores. Social studies data from 2016-17 showed stronger proficiency. One year of trend data does not indicate whether current performance is stable or changing. The school does not report special education or English learner enrollment rates, and discipline and attendance data were not available.
The school's environment and staffing will shift noticeably in the 2025-26 academic year due to the district-wide reduction in force. Families should expect smaller class sizes to be harder to maintain and support services to be stretched thinner than they were before. The school is a regular public elementary school with no charter, magnet, or special designation. Its grade configuration means there are no high school or middle school outcomes to consider; families will transition students to the district's middle and high schools as they progress.
Parents and residents considering this school should understand that it sits within a district navigating substantial fiscal constraint, and that academic support and program breadth may narrow as staffing decreases in the coming years. The school's own academic standing relative to county peers is solidly average in math and below average in English language arts, and the limited available trend data does not clarify whether this reflects a stable baseline or a recent shift. Families may want to connect directly with the school and district to understand how the workforce reduction will affect classroom staffing, specialist access, and class composition at this grade level.
See more original research from School Decision →