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Best Public Schools in Fort Wayne, IN


At a glance
78
Schools
46,728
Students
8
Districts
8
5-star schools
Top rankedAboite Elementary School2nd of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools
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Biggest riser
Whispering Meadow Elementary School up 220 spots statewide this year
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Smallest classes
Willard Shambaugh Elementary School 10.2 students per teacher
SchoolDigger ratings
5★
4★
3★
2★
1★
0★
9 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)
Summary:

Fort Wayne, Indiana's school data covers 75 schools — 48 elementary, 16 middle, 9 high, and 2 alternative — spread across five main operators: Fort Wayne Community Schools (49 schools, 27th percentile, 1 star), Northwest Allen County Schools (9 schools, 86th percentile, 4 stars), MSD Southwest Allen County Schls (9 schools, 91st percentile, 5 stars), East Allen County Schools (5 schools, 45th percentile, 2 stars), plus three charter schools that are generally low-ranked or unranked. The data includes state rankings, graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, ILEARN/SAT proficiency, free/reduced lunch, per-student spending, and student-teacher ratios; some values are blank or suppressed, especially for small, virtual, or early-childhood schools.

At the top, Homestead High School stands out: rank 7/415, 5 stars, a 96.3% graduation rate, 0.5% chronic absenteeism, and SAT Math of 47.3% — far above the state's 25.6%. Carroll High School is also excellent (rank 31/415, 5 stars). Among elementaries, Aboite Elementary School ranks 2/1015 with 90.11% Math and 0.0% chronic absenteeism, while Fred H Croninger Elementary School is the top FWCS elementary (rank 10/1015). Summit Middle School leads middle schools (rank 33/486), and Memorial Park Middle School is a strong FWCS exception (rank 138/486). R Nelson Snider High School improved sharply, from 279/429 to 139/415.

Math is the weakest area, especially in high school: only Homestead and Carroll exceed the state SAT Math rate, and even East Allen University, with a 100% graduation rate, reaches only 15.28%. Attendance is a strong but imperfect signal — most FWCS high schools exceed the state's 16.7% chronic absenteeism, and Fort Wayne Virtual Academy reaches 49.6%, while eSACS Virtual School has 0.0% absenteeism yet a 68.0% graduation rate. High-poverty schools such as Croninger, John S Irwin Elementary School, and Memorial Park beat district and state averages, showing outcomes aren't fixed by income. Spending and class size don't reliably predict results: Jeff H Towles Intermediate School spends $19,715 yet ranks 583/1015, while Maple Creek Middle School spends $8,064 with the highest ratio (20.4) yet ranks 58/486. Note that spending data is from 2023-2024 while test and absenteeism data cover 2024-2026.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Cities Near Fort Wayne

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Indiana Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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