Acting State Superintendent Michael Sawyers said at a Wednesday briefing that the report provides insights on how struggling districts achieve high student academic performance.

Ohio Business Roundtable President Richard Stoff said his group co-sponsored the review to show high-performing schools, such as Steubenville's Wells Academy, exist throughout Ohio. The academy was the site of Republican Gov. John Kasich's (KAY'-siks) State of the State speech this year.

Strong leadership, savvy use of student data, and a no-excuses attitude were approaches all successful schools employed.

Model schools in the study were both public and charter, unionized and non-unionized.