Central Middle School

Central Middle School is a public middle school in Kokomo, Indiana, serving about 451 students in grades 6 through 8 as part of the Kokomo School Corporation, a district ranked 278th of 374 in Indiana. Central itself is rated 2 stars for 2025–2026 and ranks 269th of 486 Indiana middle schools, or the 45th percentile — a meaningful step up from its 1-star, 29th-percentile showing in 2017–2018, though its recent history is mostly 2-star performance with a peak of 3 stars in 2021–2022. About 47.67% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and per-student spending is $13,019.

Compared with the other middle schools in its own district, Central is the strongest performer. It beats Bon Air Middle School and Maple Crest Middle School in both ELA (34.61%) and math (31.24%), and it has the lowest chronic absenteeism (24.8%) and lowest free/reduced lunch rate of the three. It also tops the district averages in ELA and math. The exception is science, where Central’s 25.69% falls below the district’s 29.07% and behind Maple Crest’s 30.15%. Chronic absenteeism has improved substantially — down from 36.8% in 2021–2022 — but remains above Indiana’s 16.7% rate.

Looking at nearby schools, Central sits in the middle of the pack. It trails the 4-star middle schools — Western Middle School, Northwestern Middle School, and Eastern Middle School — which post ELA proficiency in the low-to-mid 40s and math in the low 40s, roughly 10 points above Central, along with chronic absenteeism around 10–12%. Bright spots include 7th-grade math, where Central’s 43.23% beats the state’s 35.9% and most nearby schools, and Biology end-of-course results (56.6%, more than double the district rate). The clearest areas to watch are science, which dropped from 34.18% to 25.69%, 6th- and 8th-grade math, and ELA at every grade level, all of which trail state averages.