Officials with Columbus Public Schools announced preliminary proficiency test results show student's maintained the previous years passage rates or showed slight advances in other areas.
The results show slightly more students passed several sections of the Ohio Proficiency Test but fewer middle and high school students passed science, reading and writing tests.
The most marked improvement came from elementary students who passed the math portion of the exam.
District spokesman Greg Viebranz says the percentage of students who passed at both the fourth and sixth grade level translates into the hundreds.
Viebranz credits district teacher's extra time outside of the classroom with the increase in scores. He says the district is working with teachers to merge data with better classroom instruction.
Columbus Public Schools emerged from Academic Emergency last summer. Currently they are in Academic Watch---Viebranz says the goal is to reach Continuous improvement and be the first urban district in the state to have a 90 percent graduation rate.