Summary:
There are two middle schools serving grades 7–8 in Bartholomew Con School Corp in Columbus, Indiana: Northside Middle School and Central Middle School. Together they enroll 1,698 students, with Northside the larger campus at 908 students and Central at 790. The district as a whole ranks 162nd of 374 Indiana districts, placing it at the 57th percentile with 3 stars.
Central Middle School is the stronger of the two on regular state testing. In 2025–2026 it ranked 142nd of 486 schools (71st percentile, 4 stars), up from 199th of 480 (59th percentile, 3 stars) the year before. Its ELA proficiency was 46.85% overall and 50.39% in 8th grade, both above the district and state. Its ELA score rose 8.88 points year over year, and math rose 4.91 points to 38.24%. Central also has the smaller classes, with a student-teacher ratio of 15.2 versus Northside's 15.7, and slightly higher per-student spending ($12,099 vs. $11,987).
Northside Middle School ranked 205th of 486 (58th percentile, 3 stars) in 2025–2026, essentially unchanged from 189th of 480 the year before. Its ELA (37.17%) and math (34.81%) proficiency both trail the district, and its scores were flat year over year. Northside's standout result is Biology End of Course proficiency of 100% in both years, though this likely reflects a small, select group taking a high-school-level exam, so it shouldn't be read as a schoolwide rate. The shared challenge for both schools is math, which falls below the district at each, and chronic absenteeism — 17.2% at Northside and 17.7% at Central, both above the district's 15.9% and the state's 16.7%.
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