Summary:
Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp in Indiana contains three middle schools — Schmucker Middle School, Discovery Middle School, and Virgil I Grissom Middle School — all serving grades 6–8 and together enrolling 2,644 students. The Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp is high-performing overall, ranking 34th of 374 districts, in the 91st percentile with 5 stars.
Discovery is the clear standout: 3rd of 486 middle schools statewide, 99th percentile and 5 stars in 2025–26, with the lowest chronic absenteeism in the group at 5.4% and the highest proficiency in every subject (ELA 78.51%, math 69.71%, science 75.49%). Its 8th-grade results — 84.29% ELA and 75.64% math — are far above the state's 44% and 34.2%. Schmucker, the largest at 1,041 students, improved from 52nd to 36th, rising from 4 to 5 stars, with a +7.43-point ELA gain to 61.62%, though its math (53.50%) and science (56.59%) remain below district averages. Grissom is the smallest (662 students) and highest-need, with 50.6% free/reduced lunch and 16.0% chronic absenteeism; it still ranks 129th of 486 (73rd percentile, 4 stars) but posts the lowest proficiency (ELA 52.61%, math 37.56%, science 44.21%).
Math is the weakest subject at all three schools, and Grissom's math sits only barely above the state in 7th and 8th grade and slightly below it in 6th. Discovery spends $10,506 per student with a 20.6 student-teacher ratio, while Grissom spends $11,165 with 15.5 — the most spending and smallest classes, yet the lowest scores, which likely reflects targeted support for higher-need students rather than a simple resource effect. Science results in 2025–26 appear to be 6th grade only. Even the lowest-ranked school here is well above the state median.
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