Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp serves about 21,400 students across 37 schools — 22 elementary, 7 middle, 5 high schools and 3 alternative programs — in and around Evansville, Indiana, and the district as a whole ranks 258th of 374 Indiana districts (31st percentile) with a 2-star rating. That single rating hides a big split: these schools are strongly bimodal, with a handful of excellent schools and a larger group performing well below state averages. Average chronic absenteeism across the schools is roughly 21.3%, above the state's 16.7%, and average free/reduced lunch is about 51.5%.

Among the standouts, McCutchanville Elementary School is 5-star and in the 93rd percentile (ELA 64.31%, Math 71.37%), while Oak Hill Elementary is also 5-star (91st percentile) and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 5.1%. Scott Elementary School (4-star, 85th percentile) has the lowest free/reduced lunch at 13.05%, and West Terrace Elementary School posts exceptional Math at 66.43%. Perry Heights Middle School leads the middle schools (ELA 51.84%, Math 46.64%). Among high schools, New Technical Institute graduates 98.0% with SAT EBRW 62.9%; North High School and Francis Joseph Reitz High School also beat state averages in most subjects, and Central High School improved sharply in 2025–26 despite an 86.8% graduation rate. At the other end, Glenwood Leadership Academy, McGary Middle School, Lodge Community School and Lincoln School sit in the bottom few percentiles, with proficiency often in the single digits.

A clear pattern links attendance and poverty to results: the highest-performing schools have the lowest chronic absenteeism, while the alternative schools — including Academy for Innovative Studies and EVSC Virtual Academy — face graduation rates of 41.4% and 55.5% with absenteeism above 42%. Per-student spending ranges from $10,711 to $16,173, but the highest spending is concentrated in high-need schools rather than top performers. Only about 12 of 37 schools fall below the state chronic absenteeism rate, and 20 of 34 ranked schools are 0- to 2-star, so parents should weigh individual school data more than the district rating.