The top reported proficiency rate is 100% in Math. The lowest is 97% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mckinley Stem Academy
McKinley STEM Academy is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Steubenville. The school enrolls a mixed student body: roughly half white and half Black, with a smaller share identifying as multiracial. No data on free or reduced-price lunch rates was available.
The school's test results are strong. In the most recent year, all students assessed in third and fourth grade math met or exceeded state proficiency standards. In English language arts, nearly all students met proficiency. Across all grades tested, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Jefferson County. These results rest on a small tested cohort, so a parent may want to look into how stable this performance is year to year and how the school tracks progress for younger grades not yet assessed.
McKinley is one of four elementary schools in Steubenville City, and it sits within a district that has made a deliberate investment in STEM education. The district recently built the Pugliese STEM Academy, a major addition to the high school with aerospace engineering, health informatics, clean energy, and other college-credit pathways. More immediately relevant to families at McKinley, the district rolled out Project Lead the Way (PLTW) curriculum across all buildings, from kindergarten through high school. McKinley earned PLTW Distinguished School status as part of that rollout, meaning students here work with hands-on engineering and computational thinking from early on. This is a curriculum choice, not a magnet draw; the school is a regular public school, not a selective or magnet program.
The school is small, with enrollment weighted toward the younger grades. Prekindergarten and kindergarten together make up more than half the total; third and fourth graders are fewer. No data on special education, English learner services, chronic absenteeism, or discipline were available, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about those supports.
Steubenville itself is a small industrial city along the Ohio River with a decades-long population decline. The downtown has been revitalized in pockets, especially along Fourth Street where new independent cafes and shops have opened. Housing is affordable compared to state and national benchmarks; homes in the area are also older, mostly built before the 1970s. The city's economy centers on health care and higher education now; the steel mills that once anchored employment have largely closed. The school is located at 1400 Adams Street in a working residential neighborhood.
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