The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Science. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hayward Middle School
Hayward Middle School serves seventh and eighth grade students in Springfield, a mid-sized industrial Ohio city undergoing downtown revitalization after decades of manufacturing decline. The school sits in a community shaped by historic neighborhoods, recent demographic shifts including a large Haitian immigrant population, and a complex property tax landscape tied to school funding.
The school's academic results are substantially below proficiency benchmarks. In the most recent state testing, approximately one in eight students scored at proficient levels in math, roughly one in six in English language arts, and about one in five in science. The overall proficiency index places Hayward in the bottom quartile among the districts that make up Clark County. These are weak outcomes that a parent should investigate further with the school, particularly if academic support and remediation are important considerations in choosing a middle school. The scale scores themselves sit in the lower range, indicating students are achieving below state standards across all tested subjects. Testing participation was complete across all three subjects, so the results are not shaped by missing data.
The school enrolls a small-to-mid-sized cohort of about 375 students split roughly evenly between the two grades. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. Black students make up a plurality of the enrollment, Hispanic and two-or-more-races students together represent a substantial share, and white students form the remainder. Free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility data and counts of students with IEPs or English learner status were not reported, so a parent interested in those demographics should ask the school directly. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet program, and sits on Clifton Avenue in the city.
Springfield's property tax history has been contested. A continuing permanent improvement levy approved in 2022 provides stable funding for facility maintenance without raising resident tax bills, because it replaced an earlier bond levy. A longer-standing bond levy that the state had ceased collecting became the subject of litigation resolved in the district's favor by the Ohio Supreme Court in 2025, meaning the district can continue collecting that tax through a future date to service debt from school facility improvements, technology, and security investments. For families considering relocation to the area, this ongoing commitment to facility funding is a concrete signal of the district's commitment to building upkeep, though the property tax implications are worth reviewing with a local tax specialist.
The city itself shows signs of economic rebuilding. Housing values in the Springfield area are moderate relative to state and national benchmarks, and mortgage affordability is favorable compared to national norms. Downtown has seen new construction including breweries, a modern library main branch, and new residential townhomes, alongside a new microtransit system launched in 2024. At the same time, the city's population declined substantially over prior decades. For a family evaluating whether to settle in Springfield, the combination of affordable housing, downtown revitalization effort, and stable school facility funding offers some foundation, but the weak academic performance at Hayward and other district schools is the most pressing question to weigh.
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