COLUMBUS — Six in 10 Columbus City Schools graduates who went on to an Ohio public college needed remedial classes in their first year, the highest rate among the state’s largest districts, according to the most recent state data.
The Ohio Department of Higher Education tracked 2024 high school graduates who enrolled at a public college or university in Ohio. Students who need remedial classes must take courses that don’t count toward a degree before moving on to college-level work. The state publishes the figures each year by district and high school.
Statewide, about 14% of the nearly 42,000 graduates in the data needed at least one remedial class. Math was the bigger hurdle: about 12% needed remedial math, compared with roughly 5% in English.
Suburban districts posted the lowest rates. Among districts sending at least 200 graduates to Ohio public colleges, Perrysburg had the lowest at under 2%, followed by Anthony Wayne at 2%, Springboro at 4% and Mason at 5%. Olentangy led central Ohio at about 10%, while Dublin was at 13% and Worthington at 14%.
At the other end, Columbus City Schools’ rate was 61%. Of 805 Columbus graduates in the data, nearly 490 took a remedial course. Akron followed at 38%, and South-Western, which serves Grove City and nearby communities, was at 32%.
Other big-city districts varied widely. Cleveland’s rate was 30%, Dayton’s 18%, Cincinnati’s 15%, and Toledo’s 12%.
The figures include only students who enrolled at Ohio public colleges and universities. Graduates who went to private or out-of-state schools are not counted, which can affect districts that send many students elsewhere.