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Career Academy High School

Q: Is Career Academy High School a good school?

Career Academy High School ranks 320 th of 429 Indiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public, Charter Grades 9-12

320^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 429 Indiana High Schools

Better than 25% of Indiana high schools

Summary

Career Academy High School is a public charter high school serving grades 9-12 in South Bend, Indiana, with a student population of 448. The school is part of the Career Academy High School District, which is ranked 286 out of 380 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Career Academy High School has a relatively low student-teacher ratio and has seen an increase in spending per student, the school has consistently underperformed compared to the state and nearby schools on standardized tests. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 25% of students were proficient or better in ILEARN/Biology, compared to the state average of 29%. Similarly, the school's SAT/Evidence-based Reading and Writing and SAT/Mathematics proficiency rates were significantly lower than the state and nearby school averages. The school's graduation rates have also been mixed, ranging from 87.2% to 98.4% in recent years, with the lower end of this range being a concern.

Interestingly, Career Academy High School's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups. While Hispanic students have performed relatively well, ranking 37th out of 181 Indiana high schools in the 2024-2025 school year, White students and students with special needs have struggled, ranking 316th and 220th, respectively, out of all Indiana high schools. When compared to nearby high-performing schools like Penn High School and New Prairie High School, Career Academy High School generally underperforms on academic metrics, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism.

481

Students ?

10.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,034

Per pupil spending ?

53.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3801 Crescent Circle
South Bend, IN 46628

(574) 299-9800

District: Career Academy High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

44.5%

African American:

34.5%

Hispanic:

11.0%

See top rated Indiana high schools

Compare Career Academy High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 85th percentile in 2019 → 25th in 2025

Strengths

✓97% graduate in 4 years — above the Indiana average (90%)

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (25% vs 42% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 17% Indiana)

!Ranking has slipped from its 85th-percentile peak (2019) to 25th (2025)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school25%

District avg25%

Indiana avg42%

320^th of 429

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 25%▲ up 17 pts since 2015

From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 25% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

286^th of 380Career Academy High School among Indiana districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	26.5	320 of 429	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.8	328 of 432	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.7	244 of 398	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.2	236 of 409	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.8	201 of 388	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	73.2	58 of 389	85.1%	★★★★☆
2016	36.1	286 of 394	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	8.4	366 of 400	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	0.8	374 of 379	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	36.7	75 of 132	43.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.4	85 of 132	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.3	51 of 125	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.7	46 of 125	63.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	28.7	293 of 387	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	304 of 392	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.6	256 of 388	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	73.6	37 of 181	79.6%	★★★★☆
2024	54.2	63 of 184	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	98.6	2 of 164	98.8%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	31.8	279 of 377	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.0	296 of 377	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.0	218 of 379	42.5%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	20.2	319 of 386	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.3	319 of 392	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.4	228 of 383	40.5%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	23.2	87 of 111	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	51.0	47 of 104	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	32.0	57 of 94	39.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	30.1	220 of 298	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	73.0	53 of 289	81.7%	★★★★☆
2023	47.7	129 of 285	54.7%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2025	22.3	316 of 377	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.8	338 of 381	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.7	202 of 375	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.2	250 of 378	33.9%	★★☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2025)80th percentile+54 vs school

African American (2025)43rd percentile+18 vs school

Special Education (2025)26th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile~ school

Female (2025)24th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)22nd percentile-4 vs school

Male (2025)17th percentile-8 vs school

White (2025)16th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2024-2025) ?

Evidence-based Reading and Writing42%-13 vs state

Biology25%-21 vs state

Mathematics9%-17 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, February 15, 2017

love love this school, teachers really care about the students. They really want the best for each and every student. The communication between the teachers and parents its wonderful. The support you get from them its amazing! Close Quote

Schools Near Career Academy High School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	ILEARN Biology (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Career Academy High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3801 Crescent Circle	South Bend	46628	St. Joseph County	Career Academy High School	Yes	No	No	No	(574) 299-9800	481	47	10.2	53.8%	214 (44.5%)	166 (34.5%)	53 (11.0%)	5 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (8.7%)	26.5	320^th of 429 public high schools	25.4%		23.8	328^th of 432 public high schools	24.1%	8	41.9	8.6	25.0	$16,034	$5,545	$10,489
Washington High School	Public	9-12	4747 W Washington Ave	South Bend	46619	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(574) 393-5500	795	73	10.8	65.3%	75 (9.4%)	426 (53.6%)	228 (28.7%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (7.7%)	6.1	408^th of 429 public high schools	4.9%		8.3	396^th of 432 public high schools	8.3%	12	10.8	1.3	9.6	$15,710	$3,323	$12,387
Excel Center - South Bend	Public, Charter	9-12	2721 Kenwood Avenue	South Bend	46628	St. Joseph County	Excel Center - South Bend	Yes	No	No	No	(574) 314-5570	296	8	37.0	11.5%	61 (20.6%)	123 (41.6%)	90 (30.4%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.1%)	4.6	416^th of 429 public high schools	3.0%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0		$4,336	$137	$4,199
Clay High School	Public	9-12	19131 Darden Rd	South Bend	46637	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(574) 393-4900	0	2	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)				$19,967	$2,944	$17,022
Purdue Polytechnic High School South Bend	Public, Charter	9-12	635 S Lafayette Blvd	South Bend	46601	St. Joseph County	Purdue Polytechnic High School South Bend	Yes	No	No	No	(765) 494-7872	138	14	9.8	61.6%	54 (39.1%)	29 (21.0%)	44 (31.9%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.5%)	19.6	348^th of 429 public high schools	18.9%		36	281^st of 432 public high schools	35.0%	67	23.1	3.9	35.1	$12,394	$3,495	$8,899
Rise Up Academy at Eggleston	Public	9-12	740 N Eddy Street	South Bend	46617	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(574) 393-3500	149	22	6.8	67.1%	19 (12.8%)	71 (47.7%)	46 (30.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (8.7%)	4.4	428^th of 429 public high schools	0.2%		5.4	421^st of 432 public high schools	2.5%	7	7.9	0.0	0.0	$21,785	$4,499	$17,286
Riley High School	Public	9-12	1902 Fellows St	South Bend	46613	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(574) 393-5100	1,238	99	12.5	57.4%	319 (25.8%)	492 (39.7%)	302 (24.4%)	10 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	112 (9.0%)	15.9	363^rd of 429 public high schools	15.4%		20.1	345^th of 432 public high schools	20.1%	18	32.7	5.6	18.6	$15,942	$2,472	$13,470
Adams High School	Public	9-12	808 S Twyckenham Dr	South Bend	46615	St. Joseph County	South Bend Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(574) 393-5300	1,966	130	15.1	48.5%	634 (32.2%)	561 (28.5%)	568 (28.9%)	41 (2.1%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	158 (8.0%)	41.4	258^th of 429 public high schools	39.9%		43.2	246^th of 432 public high schools	43.1%	12	49.0	17.0	31.0	$12,765	$2,490	$10,275
Cavemen Academy of Virtual Excellence	Public, Virtual	7-12	1402 S Main St.	Mishawaka	46544	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(574) 254-4500	162	12	13.5	67.9%	111 (68.5%)	12 (7.4%)	10 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (17.9%)								(n/a)
Mishawaka High School	Public	9-12	1202 Lincolnway E	Mishawaka	46544	St. Joseph County	School City of Mishawaka	No	No	No	No	(574) 254-7300	1,327	90	14.7	31.3%	849 (64.0%)	190 (14.3%)	150 (11.3%)	8 (0.6%)	9 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	121 (9.1%)	41.5	257^th of 429 public high schools	40.1%		36.8	278^th of 432 public high schools	35.6%	21	46.5	16.4	37.6	$12,758	$650	$12,108

Frequently Asked Questions about Career Academy High School

What is the racial makeup of Career Academy High School?

Students at Career Academy High School are 44% White, 35% African American, 11% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Is Career Academy High School a good school?

Career Academy High School ranks 320^th of 429 Indiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Career Academy High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 481 students attended Career Academy High School.

What district is Career Academy High School in?

Career Academy High School

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Indiana Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.