NANKIN — Mapleton’s latest report card tells a story of progress across the district.
Mapleton Local Schools earned four out of five stars on Ohio’s latest school report card. Interim Superintendent Bradley Romano pointed out strong student performance, graduation rates and improved attendance.
The Mapleton Board of Education reviewed the district’s preliminary 2025-26 report card results during its Wednesday meeting.
A four-star rating means the district is exceeding the state’s expectations. Five stars is the highest rating.
“Overall, as a district, everyone’s been very proud of this rating,” Romano said.
Students showed strong academic growth
Mapleton’s performance index for last year was 89.3. The number reflects how well students performed across state tests.
One of the strongest results came in Algebra I. Thirty-seven of the forty students passed the assessment test.
The district also showed strong results in English language arts.
Romano said math is still an area where the district can continue to improve, particularly in high school courses.
Rather than just looking at whether students passed a test, the state also looks at how much students improve during the school year. Mapleton’s results showed students were making strong academic progress.
Chronic absenteeism dropped
One of the biggest improvements was in student attendance.
In 2024-25, 25.1 percent of Mapleton students were considered chronically absent. That means they missed at least 10 percent of the school year.
That number dropped to 16.6 percent last school year.
Administrators said the district has been working to encourage students to attend school and create an environment where students want to be in the building.
“This is a success. This shows that we’re cognizant of that, and we’re putting things in place to support those students,” Romano said.
Elementary students are making progress in reading
74.5 percent of Mapleton third-graders reached the state’s proficiency mark on the third-grade English language arts test.
Elementary Principal Cassie Swanson said the district also provides reading interventions for students who are struggling.
Swanson said those efforts are helping students catch up as they move through elementary school.
Students who enter kindergarten behind in reading are able to close that gap by the time they reach third grade.
“Last spring, our teachers were just raving about how much they saw their kids grow from that opportunity,” Swanson said.
Nearly every student graduated
Mapleton also continued to see strong graduation results.
The district’s four-year graduation rate was 98.8 percent, according to Romano.
Mapleton also received the highest rating for its graduation results on the state report card.
The District College, Career, Workforce and Military Readiness results provide another opportunity for improvement.
The career preparation part of the report card studies if students leave high school with experiences and credentials that prepare them for what comes next. Mapleton received two stars in that category for the latest report card.
Romano said the number is expected to improve on next year’s report card.
In total, 78.1 percent of the class of 2026 met at least one of the state’s measures for college, career, workforce or military preparation.
The board identifies areas to improve
While a four-star rating is a positive result, the board is still looking for ways to improve.
Math performance, student progress in math and the performance of gifted students were among the areas officials identified for further review.
The district plans to continue looking at its student data to determine where additional support could make the biggest difference.
Overall, administrators said the report card shows Mapleton students are performing well and making progress.
The district’s official state report card is expected to be released publicly Sept. 15.
