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DeKalb Middle School

Q: Is DeKalb Middle School a good school?

DeKalb Middle School ranks 233 rd of 486 Indiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

233^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 486 Indiana Middle Schools

Better than 52% of Indiana middle schools

Summary

DeKalb Middle School in Waterloo, Indiana, serves about 759 students in grades 6–8 and is part of the DeKalb County Ctl United School District. The school currently ranks 233rd out of 486 Indiana middle schools — the 52nd percentile, with a 3-star rating. That marks a significant slide from 2018–2019, when it ranked 71st out of 470 (85th percentile, 4 stars). In other words, a school that was once a top-quartile performer in the state is now middle of the pack, and the decline has been steady over several years rather than a one-year dip.

Test scores show where the strengths and struggles are. English language arts is the relative bright spot: 41.24% of all students were proficient, and 8th-grade ELA (48.02%) beats the state by about 4 points. Math is the most persistent weakness at 29.2% overall, largely driven by 7th-grade math at 23.39% — about 12.5 points below the state. Science has become a newer concern, at 31.37% for 6th grade, nearly 10 points below the state. Across subjects, scores have been sliding: ELA is down about 13 points since 2022–2023, and science is down about 12 points over the same period.

Compared with nearby schools, DeKalb outperforms the Fort Wayne middle schools and Garrett Middle School in ELA and math, but trails Maple Creek Middle School, Carroll Middle School, Leo Elementary School, Prairie Heights Middle School, and Angola Middle School in science. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 13.2% is better than the state's 16.7%, but higher than Maple Creek (5.3%), Leo (4.8%), East Noble Middle School (9.0%), and Garrett (8.8%). Notably, DeKalb spends $10,631 per student — more than Maple Creek ($8,064) and Carroll ($8,676) — yet scores lower, and its student-teacher ratio of 16.4 is also lower than those schools. That suggests resources alone do not explain the results.

759

Students ?

16.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,799

Per pupil spending ?

45.8%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

3338 Cr 427
Waterloo, IN 46793

(260) 920-1013

District: DeKalb County Ctl United School District

Students who attend DeKalb Middle School usually attend:

High:

DeKalb High School

Feeder schools for DeKalb Middle School:

Elementary:	Country Meadow Elementary School
	James R Watson Elementary School
	McKenney-Harrison Elementary School
	Waterloo Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

90.3%

Hispanic:

6.2%

Two or more races:

2.2%

See top rated Indiana middle schools

Compare DeKalb Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 83rd percentile in 2016 → 52nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Above the Indiana median (52nd percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 31 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school35%

District avg40%

233^rd of 486

Indiana public middle schools ?

Top 48%▼ down 31 pts since 2016

From top 17% (2016) to top 48% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

181^st of 374DeKalb County Ctl United School District 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
2026	49.9	233 of 486	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	58.3	188 of 480	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.9	148 of 491	69.9%	★★★★☆
2023	71.5	124 of 489	74.6%	★★★★☆
2022	73.7	118 of 490	75.9%	★★★★☆
2021	72.5	119 of 483	75.4%	★★★★☆
2019	79.3	71 of 470	84.9%	★★★★☆
2018	80.8	68 of 473	85.6%	★★★★☆
2017	76.4	90 of 472	80.9%	★★★★☆
2016	77.1	86 of 494	82.6%	★★★★☆
2015	68.1	144 of 485	70.3%	★★★★☆
2014	61.7	204 of 470	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2013	55.8	230 of 444	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	63.6	164 of 447	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	66.0	149 of 451	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2010	72.8	100 of 428	76.6%	★★★★☆
2009	68.0	126 of 423	70.2%	★★★★☆
2008	56.9	181 of 392	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2007	56.1	184 of 382	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	58.2	169 of 375	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2005	49.2	225 of 370	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2004	43.8	143 of 222	35.6%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts41%

Science31%

Math29%

★

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Schools Near DeKalb Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)						ILEARN Math (2026)						ILEARN Science (2026)			ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ILEARN English Language Arts 4th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 4th Grade	ILEARN Math 5th Grade	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 4th Grade	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
DeKalb Middle School	Public	6-8	3338 Cr 427	Waterloo	46793	DeKalb County	DeKalb County Ctl United School District	No	No	No	No	(260) 920-1013	759	46	16.4	45.8%	685 (90.3%)	4 (0.5%)	47 (6.2%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	17 (2.2%)	49.9	233^rd of 486 public middle schools	52.1%		58.3	188^th of 480 public middle schools	60.8%	45			35.3	40.4	48.0	41.2			33.2	23.4	30.2	29.2		31.4	31.4			$9,799	$80	$9,718
Garrett Middle School	Public	6-8	801 E Houston St	Garrett	46738	DeKalb County	Garrett-Keyser-Butler Com School Corp	No	No	No	No	(260) 357-5745	387	27	14.3	57.9%	355 (91.7%)	3 (0.8%)	15 (3.9%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	7 (1.8%)	40.7	297^th of 486 public middle schools	38.9%		33.4	331^st of 480 public middle schools	31.0%	34			42.6	30.1	28.9	33.2			29.7	22.1	21.9	24.2		40.6	40.6			$12,069	$242	$11,827
East Noble Middle School	Public	6-8	415 Drake Rd	Kendallville	46755	Noble County	East Noble School Corporation	No	No	No	No	(260) 347-0100	767	57	13.4	38.1%	678 (88.4%)	12 (1.6%)	54 (7.0%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.5%)	48	246^th of 486 public middle schools	49.4%		45.2	267^th of 480 public middle schools	44.4%	21			34.7	29.5	33.6	32.6			47.1	27.5	25.6	33.0		41.0	41.0			$11,753	$520	$11,233
Leo Elementary School	Public	4-6	14811 Wayne St	Leo	46765	Allen County	East Allen County Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 446-0170	653	32	20.4	23.4%	561 (85.9%)	12 (1.8%)	25 (3.8%)	8 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (7.2%)								(n/a)	73.1	52.8	55.6			60.4	79.7	48.6	56.0			61.3	60.9	44.9	52.8	56.0		$9,520	$473	$9,047
Maple Creek Middle School	Public	6-8	425 Union Chapel Rd	Fort Wayne	46845	Allen County	Northwest Allen County Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 338-0802	1,024	50	20.4	16.1%	799 (78.0%)	49 (4.8%)	54 (5.3%)	64 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (5.7%)	84.1	58^th of 486 public middle schools	88.1%		83.5	66^th of 480 public middle schools	86.3%	8			52.3	57.9	53.9	54.6			49.9	53.7	46.7	50.0		55.3	55.3			$8,623	$149	$8,474
Angola Middle School	Public	6-8	1350 E Maumee St	Angola	46703	Steuben County	MSD Steuben County	No	No	No	No	(260) 665-9581	543	42	12.9	56.2%	449 (82.7%)	1 (0.2%)	75 (13.8%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.6%)	61	178^th of 486 public middle schools	63.4%		67.2	142^nd of 480 public middle schools	70.4%	36			38.0	38.0	37.9	38.0			46.8	41.5	33.7	40.7		42.4	42.4		93.9	$11,736	$279	$11,457
Carroll Middle School	Public	6-8	4027 Hathaway Rd	Fort Wayne	46818	Allen County	Northwest Allen County Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 637-5159	1,004	50	20.0	32.7%	764 (76.1%)	35 (3.5%)	57 (5.7%)	75 (7.5%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	70 (7.0%)	73.7	115^th of 486 public middle schools	76.3%		69.9	126^th of 480 public middle schools	73.8%	11			55.1	47.7	45.4	49.4			46.5	36.5	36.1	39.6		59.6	59.6			$9,495	$235	$9,260
Prairie Heights Middle School	Public	5-8	0395 S 1150 E	LaGrange	46761	LaGrange County	Prairie Heights Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(260) 351-3038	377	31	12.2	48.5%	348 (92.3%)	2 (0.5%)	17 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	55.5	203^rd of 486 public middle schools	58.2%		48.4	249^th of 480 public middle schools	48.1%	46		50.8	45.4	58.6	44.9	50.6		30.7	37.5	15.5	7.8	23.8		46.9	46.9	60.6		$12,562	$350	$12,212
Shawnee Middle School	Public	6-8	1000 E Cook Rd	Fort Wayne	46825	Allen County	Fort Wayne Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 467-6525	624	45	13.8	66.5%	235 (37.7%)	138 (22.1%)	146 (23.4%)	51 (8.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	51 (8.2%)	22.5	381^st of 486 public middle schools	21.6%		21.5	373^rd of 480 public middle schools	22.3%	8			23.6	27.8	23.4	25.0			20.5	15.8	11.7	16.2		23.6	23.6			$11,901	$672	$11,228
Jefferson Middle School	Public	6-8	5303 Wheelock Rd	Fort Wayne	46835	Allen County	Fort Wayne Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(260) 467-4825	658	43	15.1	56.2%	342 (52.0%)	101 (15.3%)	113 (17.2%)	29 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	70 (10.6%)	32.4	335^th of 486 public middle schools	31.1%		30.8	338^th of 480 public middle schools	29.6%	3			30.4	14.8	25.0	23.9			37.0	18.9	25.6	27.4		27.7	27.7			$12,245	$843	$11,402

Frequently Asked Questions about DeKalb Middle School

What is the racial makeup of DeKalb Middle School?

Students at DeKalb Middle School are 90% White, 6% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend DeKalb Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 759 students attended DeKalb Middle School.

What district is DeKalb Middle School in?

DeKalb County Ctl United School District

What high school do graduates of DeKalb Middle School attend?

Students who attend DeKalb Middle School usually go on to attend DeKalb High School

Is DeKalb Middle School a good school?

DeKalb Middle School ranks 233^rd of 486 Indiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate DeKalb Middle School!

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataNewOct 28, 2026

2025–26 attendance dataNewOct 28, 2026

2024–25 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 20, 2026

2023–24 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

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.