Lee L Driver Middle School

Lee L Driver Middle School is a grades 6–8 school in Winchester, Indiana, serving about 316 students as part of Randolph Central School Corp. In 2025–2026 it ranked 266 of 486 Indiana middle schools (45th percentile) with a 2-star rating, placing it in the middle-to-lower tier statewide and slightly below its district's 49th-percentile rank. Earlier years were stronger — the school sat at the 65th percentile in 2015–2016 — though it has climbed back from the 35th percentile in 2022–2023. In 2025–2026, proficiency was 32.12% in English language arts, 29.47% in math, and 39.13% in science (which here reflects sixth-grade science).

Compared with two nearby schools, Northeastern Middle School (17 miles away) and Selma Middle School (15 miles away), Lee L Driver trails in overall achievement. ELA is the biggest gap: 32.12% versus 44.59% at Northeastern and 47.29% at Selma. Math, at 29.47%, is essentially tied with Northeastern (29.05%) but far behind Selma (57.04%). Science is a relative bright spot at 39.13%, slightly above Northeastern's 37.5% and below Selma's 47.47%. Chronic absenteeism, at 15.9%, is better than the state's 16.7% and Selma's 19.4%, but well above Northeastern's 5.5%. Notably, Lee L Driver is the only one of the three whose school rank falls below its own district's rank.

There are encouraging signs. ELA rose from 24.68% to 32.12% in a year, science has improved three years running, and absenteeism dropped from 19.6% to 15.9%. Math, however, slipped from 33.33% to 29.47%, and it trails the district by about 8 points. Sixth grade is the clearest pressure point: 6th-grade ELA proficiency is 21.74% against the state's 41.3%, and 6th-grade math is 28.26% against 40.2%. Because funding, class size, and poverty levels at Lee L Driver are similar to Northeastern's, the differences point more toward instruction and programs than resources.