The top reported proficiency rate is 88% in Social studies. The lowest is 53% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Paulding Elementary School
Paulding Elementary School serves about that size enrollment across pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in a small rural village in northwest Ohio. The school is situated on Water Street, separate from the historic town square downtown, and draws students from the village and surrounding county farmland. It is the elementary anchor of the Paulding Exempted Village school system.
On state assessments administered to grades three through five, the school's proficiency ranges from about one-half in math to roughly two-thirds in language arts and science. English language arts performance sits above the school's math results, and science sits between them. The school does report full participation in state testing, and all students assessed took the test. Science testing involved a smaller group of students than math and language arts, reflecting the testing schedule for that grade band. State testing data trends are not available because this is the first year of current assessment results on file.
Among the four districts in Paulding County, this school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into how the school's performance compares within the Paulding district itself and what instructional changes or additional support resources are in place.
The student body is roughly four-fifths white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students and very small numbers of students of other racial backgrounds. About one-half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of families in this rural area. The school does not report counts of students in special education or English learner programs; this data gap often reflects the nature of small rural schools, where such enrollments may be very small or reported differently.
The housing market in the area is substantially more affordable than state and national benchmarks. Home values sit roughly one-fifth to one-third of state and national prices, and estimated monthly mortgage payments are modest by national standards. This affordability draws families to the area, though the region faces some economic headwinds. The district itself confronts a significant structural funding challenge: a half-mill property tax levy that funded facilities maintenance for decades expired in 2023, creating an annual capital shortfall. Voters have twice rejected school income tax levies to address this gap, most recently in 2026. The district has announced it will take on debt for emergency HVAC repairs and is implementing budget reductions to cover debt service, which likely affects programs and conditions at the school buildings families send children to. A parent considering this school should ask what those reductions mean for classroom resources, staffing, and facility upkeep.
The village itself is anchored by a historic county courthouse and town square with local shops and restaurants, though most shopping and dining options sit along auto-oriented commercial corridors outside downtown. Paulding is a bedroom community with rural character, and the surrounding county economy rests on agriculture and light manufacturing. The county is described as open to residential growth and has some development activity underway, though most new housing investment is concentrated in nearby Antwerp rather than in Paulding itself.
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