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Best Public Schools in Waterloo, IN

At a glance

Schools

2,013

Students

Top rankedDeKalb High School65^th of 415 Indiana high schools

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Biggest riser

DeKalb High School up 70 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

Waterloo, Indiana has three public schools, all part of the DeKalb County Ctl United School District: one elementary school serving PK–5, one middle school serving grades 6–8, and one high school serving grades 9–12. Together they enroll 2,013 students — 1,007 at the high school, 759 at the middle school, and 247 at the elementary school. The district as a whole sits mid-pack in Indiana at the 52nd percentile with 3 stars, but the individual schools differ sharply from one another.

DeKalb High School is the clear academic leader, ranking 65 of 415 schools (84th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–2026, up from the 69th percentile the year before. Its graduation rate is 95.7% versus 89.7% statewide, and its SAT scores in both reading/writing (58.59%) and math (30.84%) beat district and state averages, with SAT Math improving from 23.61% the prior year. Its weak spot is attendance: chronic absenteeism is 19.0%, above both the district's 13.1% and the state's 16.7%. DeKalb Middle School sits at the 52nd percentile with 3 stars, having slipped from the 70th percentile three years ago. Its 8th-grade ELA result (48.02%) is a genuine bright spot, but Math All Grades (29.2%) and Science All Grades (31.37%) fall well below district levels.

Waterloo Elementary School ranks 719 of 1,015 (29th percentile, 1 star) and has held 1 star for three straight years, yet its results are not uniformly weak. It has the best attendance of the three (12.9% chronic absenteeism) and its Math (40.51%) and Science (42.86%) proficiency are slightly above district averages. The serious gap is English language arts: ELA All Grades is 20.25% versus the district's 40.64%, with 3rd-grade ELA at 14.29% compared with 40.8% statewide. For parents, the takeaway is that these three schools offer very different experiences — a strong high school with an attendance concern, a middle school with declining rank and soft math and science, and an elementary school with good attendance and math/science results but a pronounced ELA weakness.

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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
DeKalb High School	Public	9-12	3424 Cr 427	Waterloo	46793	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	No	No	No	(260) 920-1012	1,007	57	17.6	38.6%	898 (89.2%)	4 (0.4%)	56 (5.6%)	15 (1.5%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.5%)	28 (2.8%)	75	65^th of 415 public high schools	84.3%		60.9	135^th of 429 public high schools	68.5%	70	58.6	30.8																			59.5			$11,410	$77	$11,333
DeKalb Middle School	Public	6-8	3338 Cr 427	Waterloo	46793	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	No	No	No	(260) 920-1013	759	46	16.4	45.8%	685 (90.3%)	4 (0.5%)	47 (6.2%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	17 (2.2%)	49.9	233^rd of 486 public middle schools	52.1%		58.3	188^th of 480 public middle schools	60.8%	45						35.3	40.4	48.0	41.2				33.2	23.4	30.2	29.2		31.4	31.4					$9,799	$80	$9,718
Waterloo Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	300 E Douglas St	Waterloo	46793	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	No	No	Yes	(260) 920-1011	247	14	17.7	63.6%	226 (91.5%)	2 (0.8%)	9 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.0%)	30.1	719^th of 1015 public elementary schools	29.2%		29.5	734^th of 1005 public elementary schools	27.0%	15			14.3	28.6	20.0				20.3	39.3	57.1	30.0				40.5	42.9		42.9	20.0		84.8%		$12,072	$908	$11,164

Cities Near Waterloo

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Auburn	3.94 mi	3	269^th
Ashley	5.18 mi	1	279^th
Garrett	7.69 mi	3	342^nd
Butler	8.01 mi	2	254^th
Hamilton	8.45 mi	3	275^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.