CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Public Schools Superintendent Shauna Murphy received a markedly lower mark in her annual evaluation from the Board of Education, scoring 3.3 out of 5, down from 4.6 a year earlier.
Student performance drives 60 percent of the score, and the board judged Murphy against goals set last fall using the state’s latest report card data. She came up short on three of them: third-grade reading proficiency reached 58.9 percent against a 59.7 percent target, algebra I proficiency improved but missed its goal, and a sixth-grade reading gap between student groups narrowed less than planned.
Other goals were met or beaten. The district added six new industry-recognized credential options, well past the two requested, and Murphy delivered a proposed three-year strategic and financial plan in September.
The district itself also moved up: Cincinnati earned its first-ever 3-star state report card rating, improving on the 2.5 stars it received the previous two years. Union leadership urged the board to weigh the difficult budget conditions Murphy has faced, including a multimillion-dollar deficit and reduced state funding.
Murphy, a longtime district employee, took the top job in November 2024 after her predecessor resigned.
At its Oct. 12 meeting, the board unanimously set four new goals for 2026-27, including lifting third-grade reading proficiency to 62 percent, cutting chronic absenteeism from 46.2 percent to 43.5 percent, and raising the number of schools meeting state standards from 30 to 38. A fifth goal on teacher credentials was tabled for later wording.
