The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Science. The lowest is 50% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Utica Middle School
Utica Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in a small, rural village in central Ohio along the North Fork of the Licking River. The school sits within North Fork Local district, which spans Knox and Licking counties. Its enrollment is small, with roughly equal cohorts across each grade. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a reflection of the village's modest economic baseline. The student body is predominantly white, with very limited racial diversity.
On Ohio's State Tests, proficiency rates across the school are mixed. In English language arts, roughly three in five students scored at proficient level or above. In math, the rate dips to just under three in five. Science performance is the strongest area, with two-thirds of students meeting proficiency. On the available metrics, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Licking County, meaning its performance lags the median performance of county peers by a notable margin.
The school operates as a regular public school in a rural village of roughly 1,000 residents anchored by a compact downtown with a pedestrian-friendly Main Street. Utica's economy is limited; the signature employer is Velvet Ice Cream at Ye Olde Mill on the village's south edge, which draws regional visitors. Beyond that, work is small-scale and service-oriented. Larger employment options lie in nearby Newark and the broader Licking County market, where healthcare, manufacturing, and the Intel semiconductor facility announced for the region create broader regional opportunity. The village sits 12 miles from Newark and 35 miles west of Columbus; there is no public transit, so families rely on personal vehicles.
Housing in the Utica area is modestly priced relative to the state and national benchmarks, with home values below the Ohio average. The affordability metrics suggest that a mortgage on a median home in the area runs roughly 25 percent less monthly than the national average, though rent-to-income ratios indicate that renters spend a meaningful share of household income on housing. Unemployment in the county is moderate and stable.
The district faced a closely contested earned income tax renewal in May 2025. The levy narrowly passed overall and renews through 2029. The tax funds roughly one-third of the district's operating budget and generates substantial annual revenue. For any family considering a move into the district, this outcome matters: the vote was tight enough that funding stability may be a real consideration in years ahead.
State testing data is available only for the most recent school year. No multi-year trend information is available, so whether proficiency rates are stable, rising, or declining cannot be determined from the data. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, or staff composition were not available for this middle school. The school's civil-rights profile and any disciplinary data were not provided in the available records.
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