Summary:
The three middle schools in Monroe County Community School Corp, which serves the Bloomington area of Indiana, all teach grades 7–8 and together enroll 1,619 students, or roughly 540 per school. The district as a whole ranks 108 of 374 in Indiana (71st percentile, 4 stars), but the three schools sit in very different places within it.
Jackson Creek Middle School is the clear standout: 5 stars for three straight years, a 2025–26 rank of 19 of 486 (96th percentile), 59.86% ELA and 63.53% math proficiency across all grades — far above the district's 46.44% and 49.65% — and it beats the state in every reported grade and subject. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism (14.0%, below the district's 17.7% and the state's 16.7%) and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (28.32%). Tri-North Middle School is mid-pack but trending down: 3 stars, 66th percentile, 43.27% ELA and 37.04% math, with the group's highest absenteeism at 22.6% and a math decline of 6.17 points year over year. Lora L Batchelor Middle School is the lowest-performing and highest-need: 2 stars, 43rd percentile, 29.08% ELA and 31.38% math, below the state in every reported grade and subject, with 20.7% absenteeism and the highest FRL rate (46.44%).
Across the three schools, proficiency in both subjects now averages below the district, and rank percentiles have slipped from 2023–24 to 2025–26 at all three. Attendance and math are the shared weak points for Tri-North and Batchelor, and 8th-grade ELA is a particular dip at both. Poverty tracks with results — Jackson Creek has the lowest FRL rate and the highest scores — but does not fully explain them, since Tri-North and Batchelor have similar FRL rates yet differ by 14.19 points in ELA. Spending and class size vary little and follow no simple pattern, so families should weigh each school's own record rather than the district rating alone.
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