Hamilton Community Schools

Hamilton Community Schools is a small Indiana district serving about 375 students across just two schools: Hamilton Community Elementary School, which serves grades K–5 with 192 students, and Hamilton Community High School, which serves grades 6–12 with 183 students, meaning middle-grade results sit inside the high school's record. The district ranks 209th of 374 statewide, in the 44th percentile with 2 stars.

The elementary school is the district's academic anchor. It has earned 3 stars in each of the last three years (60th, 65th, and 56th percentile). In 2025–26 ILEARN results for All Grades, it reached 37.9% in ELA, 50.81% in math, and 60% in science — above the district in all three subjects. Chronic absenteeism was just 5.8%, far below the district's 10.0% and the state's 16.7%. Grade-level highlights include 4th grade math at 67.5% versus the state's 52% and 4th grade science at 60% versus 43.8%, though 3rd grade ELA (29.17% versus 40.8%) and 5th grade math (33.33% versus 42%) lag.

The high school tells a mixed story. Its 92.0% graduation rate beats the state's 89.7%, but 2025–26 All Grades proficiency trails the district in ELA (31.33%), math (21.69%), and science (44.83%). SAT results for 11th graders are weaker still: 27.27% met the reading/writing benchmark versus 51.9% statewide, and 9.09% met math versus 25.6%. Chronic absenteeism of 14.5% beats the state but is nearly 2.5 times the elementary rate. Notably, the high school spends more per student ($19,853 versus $18,660) with a smaller student-teacher ratio (8.5 versus 11.6), and both schools serve nearly identical free/reduced lunch populations (about 49%), so resources and demographics alone do not explain the achievement gap. A Biology EOC jump from 40% to 76.19% is encouraging but volatile given the small cohort.