Murdock Elementary School

Murdock Elementary School is a K–4 school in Lafayette, IN, serving 230 students in the Lafayette School Corporation, where 77.83% of students receive free/reduced lunch. In 2025-26 it ranked 701st of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools (31st percentile, 2 stars), below the district’s 35th percentile and the state median. Its history shows a long decline and partial rebound: it was 100th of 1,027 (90th percentile, 5 stars) in 2017-18, dropped to 762nd of 1,005 (24th percentile, 1 star) in 2024-25, then improved to its current 2-star rating.

Math is Murdock’s relative bright spot within the district. Its all-grade math proficiency was 41.58%, well above the district’s 29.89%, though it still trails nearby Vinton (61.38%), Oakland (53.73%), Edgelea (47.03%), and Glen Acres (45.93%), while beating Miami, Thomas Miller, and Amelia Earhart. ELA is a clear weakness: 30.69% is essentially the district average but far below Edgelea, Oakland, Vinton, and Glen Acres. Third-grade ELA is especially low at 29.27% versus the state’s 40.8%. Science is persistently weak at 26.67%, below both the district (28.92%) and state (43.8%); among same-district nearby schools, only Miami is lower. All tested grade levels remain below state benchmarks.

Murdock serves a high-poverty population but has relatively favorable resources: per-student spending was $13,529 in 2023-24, and the student-teacher ratio is 13.5. Chronic absenteeism improved sharply from 31.7% in 2023-24 to 21.0% in 2024-25, better than the district (24.6%) and many nearby high-poverty schools, but still above the state’s 16.7%. Despite spending more than several peers, outcomes trail lower-spending schools such as Glen Acres and Edgelea, suggesting instruction and targeted supports matter more than funding alone. A useful comparison is Paramount School of Excellence Lafayette: it has similar poverty (75.13%) and nearly identical math proficiency (41.54% vs. 41.58%), yet higher ELA (46.56% vs. 30.69%) and science (31.37% vs. 26.67%) despite higher absenteeism and spending. For parents, Murdock’s strengths are math and improving attendance; its biggest needs are ELA and science.