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Northwest Indiana Online School

Q: Is Northwest Indiana Online School a good school?

Northwest Indiana Online School ranks 263 rd of 486 Indiana alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public, Virtual, Alternative Grades K-12

263^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 486 Indiana Alternative Schools

Better than 46% of Indiana alternative schools

Summary

Northwest Indiana Online School is a K–12 alternative online school in Chesterton, IN, serving 130 students in the Duneland School Corporation, a district ranked 40th of 374 in Indiana. It is small: larger than Gary Virtual Academy (45) and La Porte Online School (96), but far smaller than Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (773), Gary Lighthouse Charter School (1,138), and LaPorte High School (1,807). Its 2024–25 graduation rate was 94.8%, above Indiana’s 89.7% and close to LaPorte High School’s 94.1%, though below the district’s 98.8%. Chronic absenteeism was 37.6%, more than double the district’s 15.6% and state’s 16.7%; it was lower than Eagle Park Community School (50.5%) and Gary Virtual Academy (59.3%), similar to Gary Lighthouse Charter School (36.3%), and higher than Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (6.7%) and LaPorte High School (29.4%).

Academically, results are mixed. In 2025–26, ILEARN All Grades ELA was 40.35%, far below the district’s 67.45% but higher than nearby alternative/online schools such as Thea Bowman Leadership Academy (14.72%) and Gary Lighthouse Charter School (12.55%). Math is the clearest weak spot: ILEARN All Grades Math was 16.07% versus 65.62% in the district, and SAT Math was 10% versus 40.44% district and 25.6% state. Grade-level math was uneven—6th grade 50%, 7th grade 0%, and 8th grade 9.52%—though small enrollment can make these swings dramatic. Science (50%), SAT ERW (45%), and Biology EOC (52.38%) were below district averages but often above nearby alternatives; LaPorte High School was the main nearby exception on SAT ERW (50.27%) and SAT Math (22.53%).

Other context matters. Free/reduced lunch was 33.08%, notably lower than Gary Lighthouse Charter School (98.86%), Steel City Academy (78.67%), and 21st Century Charter School of Gary (77.37%). The student/teacher ratio was 117.1, extremely high versus most brick-and-mortar alternatives. Per-pupil spending was $8,966, lower than nearby alternatives. Staffing and spending have been volatile year to year, so single-year comparisons should be read cautiously. The bottom line: this small online school has a high graduation rate and relatively better results than many nearby alternatives, but very high absenteeism, weak math, and wide gaps versus its own district remain key concerns.

130

Students ?

117.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$8,966

Per pupil spending ?

33.1%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

601 W Morgan Ave
Chesterton, IN 46304

(219) 983-3743

District: Duneland School Corporation

Racial breakdown:

White:

70.8%

Hispanic:

19.2%

African American:

5.4%

See top rated Indiana elementary schools

Compare Northwest Indiana Online School to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 41st percentile in 2022 → 40th in 2026

Strengths

✓95% graduate in 4 years — above the Indiana average (90%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (31% vs 42% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (38% vs 17% Indiana)

!Mathematics scores 16 pts below the Indiana average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school31%

District avg65%

Indiana avg42%

Middle school

263^rd of 486

Indiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 46%▲ up 4 pts since 2022

From bottom 41% (2022) to bottom 46% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

250^th of 415

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 40%▲ up 21 pts since 2022

From bottom 18% (2022) to bottom 40% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

40^th of 374Duneland School Corporation 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	45.0	263 of 486	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	40.3	302 of 480	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.1	347 of 491	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.7	405 of 489	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	42.1	287 of 490	41.4%	★★☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	40.7	250 of 415	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.8	312 of 429	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	48.3	210 of 432	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	7.4	371 of 398	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.6	334 of 409	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	27.4	294 of 395	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	6.2	374 of 387	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	44.1	215 of 392	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	5.0	383 of 388	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	71.0	72 of 390	81.5%	★★★★☆
2023	8.8	358 of 379	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	56.6	133 of 397	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.5	218 of 392	44.4%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	35.0	259 of 387	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	23.5	308 of 377	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	302 of 381	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	3.3	367 of 375	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.8	363 of 378	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)82nd percentile+42 vs school

Male (2026)66th percentile+27 vs school

White (2026)33rd percentile-7 vs school

Female (2026)26th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

Biology52%

Science50%

Evidence-based Reading and Writing45%-7 vs state

English Language Arts40%

Math16%

Mathematics10%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Northwest Indiana Online 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 ()				Ranking ()				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)							ILEARN Math (2026)							ILEARN Science (2026)			ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 3rd Grade	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 3rd Grade	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
Northwest Indiana Online School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	601 W Morgan Ave	Chesterton	46304	Porter County	Duneland School Corporation	No	No	Yes	No	(219) 983-3743	130	1	117.1	33.1%	92 (70.8%)	7 (5.4%)	25 (19.2%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.8%)								(n/a)	45.0	10.0				70.0	46.2	36.4	40.4				50.0	0.0	9.5	16.1			50.0		52.4	$8,966	$2,746	$6,220
Porter County Education Services	Public, Alternative	K-12	750 Ransom Rd	Valparaiso	46385	Porter County	Porter County Education Services	No	No	No	No	(219) 464-9607	0	18	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)									0.0							0.0
Gary Virtual Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	1800 E 35th Ave	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 881-5466	45	2	20.0	62.2%	2 (4.4%)	39 (86.7%)	1 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (6.7%)								(n/a)	0.0	0.0							0.0							0.0						$11,053	$4,617	$6,436
21st Century Charter School of Gary	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	556 Washington St	Gary	46402	Lake County	21st Century Charter School of Gary	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 886-9339	1,180	10	118.0	77.4%	1 (0.1%)	1,088 (92.2%)	64 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (2.2%)								(n/a)	20.3	0.0	15.6	21.7	22.4	18.5	21.4	27.2	20.8	21.9	28.3	12.0	7.8	10.0	4.9	13.6	23.3	15.7	18.5	10.7	15.8	$13,965	$3,768	$10,197
Tri-Online Virtual School	Public, Alternative	K-12	309 School Dr.	Wanatah	46390	LaPorte County	Tri-Township Cons School Corp	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(219) 754-2709	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Steel City Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2650 W 35th Avenue	Gary	46408	Lake County	Steel City Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 750-1010	286	32	8.9	78.7%	5 (1.7%)	263 (92.0%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.1%)								(n/a)	36.8	0.0	8.7	47.4	13.6	28.6	22.7	12.0	21.2	17.4	63.2	0.0	10.0	0.0	0.0	13.7	36.8	23.8	30.0	13.6		$18,967	$8,599	$10,368
Thea Bowman Leadership Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3401 W 5th Ave	Gary	46406	Lake County	Thea Bowman Leadership Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 944-3100	773	45	17.1	63.8%	0 (0.0%)	717 (92.8%)	38 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (2.3%)								(n/a)	31.3	3.1	15.7	28.6	10.1	18.2	13.1	8.5	14.7	11.8	4.8	2.9	14.0	8.8	1.7	6.9	19.1	15.4	17.3	10.3	12.7	$14,770	$5,689	$9,081
Gary Lighthouse Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	725 Clark Road	Gary	46406	Lake County	Gary Lighthouse Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 977-9583	1,138	75	15.1	—	14 (1.2%)	985 (86.6%)	101 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (3.3%)								(n/a)	13.7	0.0	19.7	13.0	11.5	3.3	9.4	20.5	12.6	25.8	16.7	9.1	6.5	8.2	10.1	11.9	13.0	2.3	6.3	14.3	16.5	$16,928	$7,371	$9,557
LaPorte High School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	602 'F' St	La Porte	46350	LaPorte County	La Porte Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 362-3102	1,807	110	16.4	40.2%	1,296 (71.7%)	57 (3.2%)	316 (17.5%)	13 (0.7%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	120 (6.6%)								(n/a)	50.3	22.5																			44.1	$10,984	$570	$10,415
La Porte Online School	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1000 Harrison St.	La Porte	46350	LaPorte County	La Porte Community School Corp	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(219) 362-7056	96	1	192.0	36.5%	75 (78.1%)	5 (5.2%)	10 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.2%)								(n/a)	28.6	2.9				8.3			12.1				8.3			12.1		25.0	30.8		8.3

Frequently Asked Questions about Northwest Indiana Online School

Is Northwest Indiana Online School a good school?

Northwest Indiana Online School ranks 263^rd of 486 Indiana alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Northwest Indiana Online School?

Students at Northwest Indiana Online School are 71% White, 19% Hispanic, 5% African American, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Northwest Indiana Online School in?

Duneland School Corporation

How many students attend Northwest Indiana Online School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 130 students attended Northwest Indiana Online School.

Rate Northwest Indiana Online School!

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2025–26 ILEARN & SAT test scoresSep 25, 2026

2024–25 graduation ratesJan 5, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataSep 4, 2025

2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataJul 16, 2025

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.