Best Public Schools in Hamilton, IN

Hamilton, Indiana is a small community served by just two public schools in the Hamilton Community Schools district: Hamilton Community Elementary School, which serves grades K–5 with 192 students, and Hamilton Community High School, which serves grades 6–12 with 183 students — a combined middle/high school, since there is no standalone middle school. Total enrollment is 375. The district is ranked 209 of 374 districts in Indiana, at the 44th percentile with 2 stars. Because both schools are small, grade-level results are based on small cohorts and can swing widely from year to year.

Hamilton Community Elementary School is the stronger performer. It earned 3 stars in each of 2023–24, 2024–25, and 2025–26, with percentile ranks of 56, 65, and 60. Chronic absenteeism is just 5.8%, far below the district's 10.0% and the state's 16.7%. All-grades results beat the district in ELA (37.9% vs 35.27%), math (50.81% vs 39.13%), and science (60% vs 53.62%). Grade-level highlights include 4th-grade math at 67.5% vs state 52%, 4th-grade science at 60% vs state 43.8%, 5th-grade ELA at 50% vs state 42.2%, and 5th-grade social studies at 52.78% vs state 47.2%.

Hamilton Community High School presents a mixed picture. Its graduation rate of 92.0% is above the state's 89.7%, Biology End-of-Course proficiency reached 76.19% in 2025–26 (up from 40% in 2024–25, with no state comparison provided and a likely small cohort), and 6th-grade science is 44.83% vs state 41.2%. However, all-grades results fall below district in ELA (31.33%), math (21.69%), and science (44.83%), and SAT performance is well below state: SAT Math 9.09% vs 25.6%, and SAT EBRW 27.27% vs 51.9%. Chronic absenteeism is 14.5% — better than the state but nearly 2.5 times the elementary rate. The high school spends more per student ($19,853 vs $18,660) with a lower student-teacher ratio (8.5 vs 11.6), yet outcomes are generally lower.