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Best Public Schools in New Castle, IN

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Indiana rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

3,417

Students

Districts

Top rankedWestwood Elementary School146^th of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Westwood Elementary School up 178 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Eastwood Elementary School 9.8 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Indiana cities →See the top-ranked Indiana schools →

Summary:

New Castle, Indiana is served by 9 schools — six elementary, one middle, and two high schools — enrolling about 3,417 students across two districts: New Castle Community School Corp (7 schools, 2,797 students) and Blue River Valley Schools (2 schools, 620 students), with no alternative schools in the group.

Westwood Elementary School is the clear standout, ranking 146 of 1,015 elementary schools (86th percentile, 4 stars) with All Grades Math at 69.53% and ELA at 60.16%, plus chronic absenteeism of only 3.8% against the state's 16.7%. James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School (3 stars, 56th percentile) has solid scores and low absenteeism but is declining from a higher base, while Blue River Valley Elementary School (3 stars) is improving and strong in math. At the high school level, Blue River Valley Junior-Senior High School posts a 100% graduation rate and 62.16% Biology but low SAT and ILEARN results, while New Castle High School graduates 93.4%, above the state's 89.7%. The lowest performers are Parker Elementary School (14th percentile, 27.5% absenteeism) and Eastwood Elementary School (11th percentile), with New Castle Middle School also below state benchmarks.

Families should note that the same district can contain very different schools — New Castle Community School Corp includes both Westwood and Eastwood. Absenteeism tracks closely with performance, and poverty relates to outcomes without determining them: Wilbur Wright Elementary School reaches the 46th percentile despite a high free/reduced lunch rate. Spending and class size show no simple link to results, and elementary schools here generally outperform the middle and high schools.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)							ILEARN Math (2026)							ILEARN Science (2026)			ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 3rd Grade	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 4th Grade	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Vaccination: Kindergartners vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Blue River Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	4713 N Viking Trail	New Castle	47362	Henry County	Blue River Valley Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(765) 836-4851	331	24	14.0	54.4%	295 (89.1%)	2 (0.6%)	18 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.8%)	61.7	377^th of 1015 public elementary schools	62.9%		55.2	459^th of 1005 public elementary schools	54.3%	82			38.6	21.6	37.5	42.2			35.5	63.6	62.2	52.5	48.9			56.6	40.5	44.4	42.7	55.0		89.7%		$11,004	$1,135	$9,869
Blue River Valley Junior-Senior High School	Public	7-12	4741 N Viking Trail	New Castle	47362	Henry County	Blue River Valley Schools	No	No	No	No	(765) 836-4811	289	22	13.4	50.5%	276 (95.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	41.7	243^rd of 415 public high schools	41.4%		30.1	306^th of 429 public high schools	28.7%	63	34.5	15.5					18.2	16.7	17.3					24.2	4.8	13.3					62.2			$12,576	$795	$11,782
New Castle Area Vocational School	Public	6-12	801 Parkview Dr	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(765) 593-6680	0	17	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1201 Riley Rd	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(765) 521-7211	246	17	14.4	49.6%	218 (88.6%)	3 (1.2%)	7 (2.8%)	7 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)	55.9	442^nd of 1015 public elementary schools	56.5%		64.8	338^th of 1005 public elementary schools	66.4%	104			59.0	31.4	40.0				44.7	61.5	45.7	45.0				52.1	34.3		34.3	45.0		76.3%		$11,090	$1,259	$9,832
New Castle Middle School	Public	6-8	601 Parkview Dr	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(765) 521-7230	627	55	11.4	57.7%	524 (83.6%)	13 (2.1%)	43 (6.9%)	8 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.1%)	32.1	338^th of 486 public middle schools	30.5%		40.3	304^th of 480 public middle schools	36.7%	34						29.1	32.5	25.3	28.9				30.2	23.2	15.5	23.1		27.0	27.0					$12,624	$2,737	$9,887
New Castle High School	Public	9-12	801 Parkview Dr	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(765) 593-6670	828	72	11.5	50.5%	712 (86.0%)	16 (1.9%)	44 (5.3%)	7 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (5.9%)	42.3	241^st of 415 public high schools	41.9%		38.6	273^rd of 429 public high schools	36.4%	32	42.4	19.6																			39.0			$13,968	$2,528	$11,440
Westwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1015 S Greensboro Pike	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(765) 521-7215	256	17	15.0	36.3%	242 (94.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.7%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)	83.8	146^th of 1015 public elementary schools	85.6%		66.1	324^th of 1005 public elementary schools	67.8%	178			59.5	53.7	66.7				60.2	76.2	70.7	62.2				69.5	43.9		43.9	66.7		86.1%		$10,440	$1,203	$9,237
Wilbur Wright Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	1950 Washington St	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(765) 521-7217	305	24	12.8	72.5%	247 (81.0%)	2 (0.7%)	24 (7.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (10.2%)	47.3	550^th of 1015 public elementary schools	45.8%		47.9	540^th of 1005 public elementary schools	46.3%	10			40.0	47.4	24.0				36.1	53.3	50.0	28.0				42.9	47.4		47.4	38.0		80%		$11,820	$1,685	$10,135
Eastwood Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	806 S 22nd St	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(765) 521-7205	257	26	9.8	74.7%	217 (84.4%)	9 (3.5%)	10 (3.9%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.8%)	12.2	899^th of 1015 public elementary schools	11.4%		20.5	812^th of 1005 public elementary schools	19.2%	87			9.3	12.5	14.0				11.8	27.9	29.2	16.3				23.6	16.7		16.7	23.3		82.1%		$13,535	$3,751	$9,783
Parker Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1819 Roosevelt	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(765) 521-7209	278	22	12.4	76.6%	227 (81.7%)	7 (2.5%)	19 (6.8%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.3%)	14.6	873^rd of 1015 public elementary schools	14.0%		12.3	888^th of 1005 public elementary schools	11.6%	15			27.8	13.5	12.8				17.9	44.4	8.1	2.6				17.9	16.2		16.2	23.1		83.3%		$11,944	$1,581	$10,364
New Castle Virtual Academy (K-5)	Public	K-5	322 Elliott Ave.	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(765) 521-7201	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
New Castle Virtual Academy (6-12)	Public	6-12	322 Elliott Ave.	New Castle	47362	Henry County	New Castle Community School Corp	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(765) 521-7201	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)									7.7							7.1

Cities Near New Castle

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Straughn	5.94 mi	2	347^th
Hagerstown	9.51 mi	2	160^th
Middletown	11.5 mi	5	317^th
Cambridge City	11.72 mi	2	232^nd
Knightstown	12.42 mi	4	324^th

See the top IN Indiana cities

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.