Summary:
The Higher Institute of Arts & Technical area in Merrillville, Indiana, contains exactly one elementary school—Higher Institute of Arts & Technical—which serves grades K–8 with 259 students and operates as its own district, Higher Institute of Arts & Technical. It is ranked in the bottom 2nd percentile among Indiana districts (366 out of 374) with 0 stars, and its school rank percentile has slipped from 7 in 2023–24 to 6 in 2024–25 to 3 in 2025–26.
In 2025–26 ILEARN results, all-grade English Language Arts proficiency was 11.38%, down from 14.38% the prior year, while math was 4.79%, down from 9.38%. Science improved from 8.47% to 10.87%, and fifth-grade social studies rose from 4.55% to 7.41%. Grade-level results show the strongest score in fourth-grade ELA at 21.05%, but math is very low: fifth and sixth grade are both 3.7%, and seventh grade is 0%. For comparison, Indiana math proficiency at those grades ranges from 34.2% to 52%, and state ELA at those grades ranges from 40.8% to 44%. Other metrics include 32.5% chronic absenteeism (state: 16.7%), 79.54% free/reduced lunch, $15,371 per-student spending, and a 14.3 student-teacher ratio.
For parents, the main takeaways are that this school faces significant challenges: math is the deepest concern, ELA remains far below state averages, chronic absenteeism is nearly double the state rate, and relative rank is declining. Bright spots include fourth-grade ELA, sixth-grade science, and improvements in all-grade science and fifth-grade social studies, though all remain below state averages. Because this is a single-school area, there are no local peer schools to compare; test-score changes may also reflect different student cohorts. Overall, the data show low proficiency, high economic disadvantage, and high absenteeism at Indiana’s bottom-ranked district.
Thank you for your feedback!