Paramount School of Excellence South Bend

The Paramount School of Excellence South Bend is the only school in the Paramount School of Excellence South Bend district — a single K–8 charter school serving 476 students on Hepler Street in South Bend, where roughly three in four students (75.42%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

On the 2025–26 ILEARN exams, results are mixed. The brightest spot is 8th grade English, where 50% of students tested proficient — above the state's 44% and the only one of 15 grade-level results to beat the state. Third grade math (42.22%) and 6th grade English (36.54%) are the next strongest showings. Weaknesses cluster in specific places: 5th grade is the lowest-performing grade in reading (21.28%), math (14.89%), and social studies (12.77%), and 6th grade science is a severe outlier at 3.85% against a state rate of 41.2%. Across all grades, 29.12% tested proficient in English and 25.67% in math, both well below the state's grade averages of roughly 42%. Math results decline steadily from 3rd grade through 8th grade, even as 8th grade reading stands out as the school's strongest single result.

The school has improved modestly — English rose from 23.48% to 29.12%, math from 21.95% to 25.67%, and its state rank climbed to 809th out of 1,015 schools — but it has held a 1-star rating in each of the past three years. The most striking number for families may be attendance: 45.9% of students were chronically absent in 2024–25 versus 16.7% statewide, nearly three times the state rate. Per-pupil spending is $11,824 with a 17:1 student-teacher ratio, so funding does not appear to be the main constraint. Parents should weigh the genuine strengths in 8th grade reading and 3rd grade math against a difficult 5th grade year, very low science scores, and unusually high absenteeism.