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Best Public Schools in Spencer, IN

At a glance

Schools

1,860

Students

Top rankedMcCormick's Creek Elementary School241^st of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools

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Biggest riser

McCormick's Creek Elementary School up 142 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

Spencer, Indiana is served by four public schools — two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school — all part of the Spencer-Owen Community Schools district, together enrolling 1,860 students in grades PK–12, with the two elementaries alone accounting for about 49% of that total. The district ranks 163rd of 374 Indiana districts, placing it in the 56th percentile with 3 stars, but performance varies sharply from school to school.

McCormick's Creek Elementary School is the clear standout: 241st of 1,015 elementary schools, the 76th percentile with 4 stars, leading all Spencer elementaries in ELA (51.72), math (56.65), and science (54.26), and posting the lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 44.62% despite the highest student-teacher ratio at 14.9. Owen Valley Middle School improved to 62nd percentile with 3 stars and solid ELA (47.49), but its math is a serious concern at 28.09 versus the district's 41.07. Owen Valley Community High School posts an excellent 98.5% graduation rate — 8.8 points above the state — and the lowest chronic absenteeism at 14.1%, yet its SAT reading (41.43 vs. state 51.9) and math (17.86 vs. state 25.6) lag, and its rank has slipped to 39th percentile with 2 stars. Spencer Elementary School sits at 49th percentile with 2 stars, with a strong 4th grade (ELA 63.86, math 65.06) but weak 6th grade (ELA 28.38, math 22.97), plus the highest absenteeism (17.9%) and highest free/reduced lunch rate (58.54%).

Three takeaways stand out for families. First, math is the clearest systemic weakness beyond elementary school, with the middle school and high school both well below state levels. Second, the two elementary schools have opposite grade-level strengths: McCormick's Creek is far stronger in 5th and 6th grade — by 6th grade, 56.86 in both ELA and math versus Spencer's 28.38 and 22.97, with science at 47.06 versus 20.27 — even though both feed the same middle school. Third, poverty, absenteeism, spending, and class size line up only partly with results: the high school has a free/reduced lunch rate of 45.86%, close to McCormick's Creek, yet much lower test performance.

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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 (2025)
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
McCormick's Creek Elementary School	Public	K-6	1601 Flatwoods Rd	Spencer	47460	Owen County	Spencer-Owen Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(812) 828-6000	390	26	14.9	44.6%	365 (93.6%)	3 (0.8%)	12 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.6%)	74.5	241^st of 1015 public elementary schools	76.3%		61	383^rd of 1005 public elementary schools	61.9%	142			50.9	53.5	46.3	56.9			51.7	58.2	65.1	48.2	56.9			56.7	62.8	47.1	54.3	46.3		95.3%		$12,757	$810	$11,947
Owen Valley Middle School	Public	7-8	626 W St Hwy 46	Spencer	47460	Owen County	Spencer-Owen Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(812) 829-2249	321	27	11.8	52.3%	303 (94.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)	59	185^th of 486 public middle schools	61.9%		48.6	247^th of 480 public middle schools	48.5%	62							47.6	47.4	47.5					29.9	26.3	28.1								$13,365	$883	$12,483
Owen Valley Community High School	Public	9-12	622 W Sr 46	Spencer	47460	Owen County	Spencer-Owen Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(812) 829-2266	628	52	12.1	45.9%	580 (92.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.2%)	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.3%)	39.4	254^th of 415 public high schools	38.8%		45.8	227^th of 429 public high schools	47.1%	27	41.4	17.9																			38.0			$14,507	$922	$13,584
Spencer Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	151 Hillside Ave	Spencer	47460	Owen County	Spencer-Owen Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(812) 829-2253	521	37	14.0	58.5%	464 (89.1%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (5.0%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.2%)	50.5	518^th of 1015 public elementary schools	49.0%		42.8	590^th of 1005 public elementary schools	41.3%	72			49.1	63.9	30.0	28.4			43.3	54.6	65.1	24.3	23.0			41.8	56.6	20.3	39.5	31.4		86.2%		$12,694	$782	$11,912

Cities Near Spencer

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Gosport	5.97 mi	1	217^th
Bloomington	6.05 mi	28	155^th
Ellettsville	7.04 mi	3	79^th
Patricksburg	10.82 mi	1	281^st
Paragon	12.19 mi	1	315^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.