Newly released Ohio Department of Education data show the I Promise School in Akron, founded with support from NBA player LeBron James, remains among the lowest-ranked schools in the state for academic achievement even as the district awarded it a high progress rating.
State assessment results for 2024–25 reviewed by OutKick and reported by multiple outlets show that proficiency rates at I Promise are far below statewide averages in both mathematics and English language arts. The school as a whole received a one-star achievement ranking from the Ohio Department of Education, the lowest possible rating, while receiving four stars for progress.
The data show just two of 75 seventh-graders at I Promise passed the state math assessment, a 2.7% proficiency rate compared with a statewide average of roughly 50%. In sixth-grade English language arts, five of 76 students met proficiency, a 6.6% rate versus a state average of about 54.5%. Most grades recorded proficiency levels in the single digits or low teens, routinely 40 to 50 points below Ohio averages.
A brighter spot within the school was fifth-grade mathematics, where 20 of 82 students passed, a 24.4% proficiency rate compared with the state average of 56.7%. The Ohio Department of Education cited "statistical evidence" that the school exceeded student growth expectations, the basis for its four-star progress rating.
I Promise opened in 2018 in partnership with the city of Akron to serve students identified as at-risk. National coverage in 2019 described early indicators of the school showing promise; at that time, LeBron James praised the students’ work and said the school would reveal deficits students had faced previously in other settings. The school has been the subject of renewed scrutiny since 2023, when reporting showed that no eighth-graders passed the state math proficiency test that year.
State accountability reports use multiple measures to produce separate ratings for achievement and for growth or progress. The one-star achievement designation reflects low overall proficiency on state assessments, while the progress score indicates the degree to which students met or exceeded expected growth compared with peers statewide.
School and city officials have previously highlighted wraparound supports tied to the I Promise initiative, including extended learning time and family services. The Ohio Department of Education’s release did not alter the school’s progress designation but underscored persistent gaps in proficiency compared with state averages.
Advocates for at-risk students and public school accountability experts say growth metrics can show improvement trajectories even when absolute proficiency remains low, but the gap between proficiency and progress ratings at I Promise points to the ongoing challenge of moving students to grade-level achievement.
The new data is likely to shape discussions in Akron and statewide about resources, instructional approaches and interventions targeted to historically underserved students. State education officials and I Promise administrators did not immediately provide additional comment beyond the published ratings and the data released by the Ohio Department of Education.