The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Social studies. The lowest is 73% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Central Elementary School
Central Elementary School serves fifth grade only, enrolling a school-size group of students from New Philadelphia, an older industrial city in Tuscarawas County that sits along Interstate 77 between Cleveland and Columbus. The school is a regular public elementary within the New Philadelphia City School District.
The school's latest state test results show solid performance across the tested subjects. On Ohio's State Tests for grades three through eight combined, the school's proficiency rate in English language arts runs strong. In math, performance is slightly lower but still above the state midpoint. Science proficiency runs strong as well. Across the three main tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile among the county's districts—a meaningful position. On the one older social studies measure available in the data, performance was strong.
Only one year of recent testing data is available, so trend direction cannot be assessed. State testing data changes and assessment adjustments mean multi-year comparisons are not safe to compute here. A parent seeking to understand whether performance is moving up, holding steady, or sliding would want to ask the school directly about trajectory and the principal's read on where work is needed.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and very small numbers of Black and multiracial students. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the community. Special education enrollment numbers and English learner counts are not available in the data, so a parent with a child needing those services should contact the school to understand the support infrastructure.
New Philadelphia itself is a stable, small city built around a historic downtown modeled on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with High Avenue and Broadway as the main streets. Downtown has locally owned shops, coffee places, and a walkable square anchored by a 19th-century courthouse and the county library. Outside the center, the city is car-dependent, with chain retail and restaurants clustering along the I-77 and US Route 250 corridors. Housing is affordable relative to the state and national benchmarks. The local economy rests on manufacturing—Cooper Standard, Crane Carrier, Gradall Industries, and The Timken Company are significant employers—alongside Kent State University at Tuscarawas and healthcare. Population has held relatively steady, and city leadership is pursuing attainable-housing initiatives.
The school district, however, faces a significant facility challenge. Voters have rejected multiple bond and tax initiatives aimed at building new school buildings. Most recently, in May 2026, residents defeated an earned-income tax measure that would have triggered state funding for a project to construct a new PreK-6 elementary and a new 7-12 middle/high school. The state's funding offer is good through the end of 2026 only. This means the district's school buildings remain aging, and the question of whether modernization will occur remains open and unresolved. For a family considering Central Elementary, the building condition and the district's unresolved capital situation are material factors worth discussing directly with the school and reviewing through a visit.
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