Best Public Schools in Lapel, IN

Lapel, Indiana is served by three public schools in the Frankton-Lapel Community Schools district: Lapel Elementary School (PK–5, 675 students), Lapel Middle School (6–8, 335 students), and Lapel Senior High School (9–12, 462 students), totaling 1,472 students. The district ranks 144 of 374 in Indiana (61st percentile, 3 stars), and all three Lapel schools rank above that district average — the high school at the 75th percentile, the elementary at 73rd, and the middle at 68th.

Lapel Senior High School holds the top 2025-26 rank (75th percentile, 4 stars) and stands out on the SAT: 62.79% in Evidence-based Reading and Writing versus 51.9% statewide, and 35.66% in Math versus 25.6% statewide, with a 94.9% graduation rate. Its caution is Biology End-of-Course at 29.41%, down from 39.64% the prior year. Lapel Middle School is the turnaround story, climbing from the 43rd percentile and 2 stars in 2023-24 to the 68th percentile and 3 stars in 2025-26, with all-grade ELA reaching 45.45%, Math 42.42%, and Science 33.06%. Lapel Elementary School posts the strongest proficiency — 49.7% ELA, 58.33% Math, and 50% Science — earning 4 stars despite the highest student-teacher ratio (19.1) and lowest per-student spending ($7,256).

Chronic absenteeism is a shared strength: 5.5% at the elementary, 9.9% at the middle, and 11.9% at the high school, all below the district's 12.7% and the state's 16.7%. Spending rises with grade level ($7,256 to $8,458 to $10,913) while class sizes shrink (19.1 to 14.7 to 13.7). One pattern worth watching is math proficiency declining in higher grades — from 64.29% in 3rd grade to 52.13% in 5th, and from 50.81% in 6th to 31.97% in 8th, below the state's 34.2%. Together with 6th grade Science at 33.06% and high school Biology at 29.41%, the data points to a STEM pipeline concern.