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Lake Central High School

Public Grades 9-12

33^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 415 Indiana High Schools

Better than 92% of Indiana high schools

Summary

Lake Central High School is a large public high school serving grades 9–12 in Saint John, Indiana, enrolling 2,926 students as part of the Lake Central School Corporation, a district ranked 27th of 374 in Indiana. The school is a consistently strong performer statewide: it ranked 33 of 415 Indiana high schools in 2025–2026 (92nd percentile, 5 stars), 22 of 429 in 2024–2025 (95th percentile, 5 stars), 29 of 432 in 2023–2024 (93rd percentile, 5 stars), and 25 of 398 in 2022–2023 (94th percentile, 5 stars) — a steady 5-star run after moving up from 4 stars in the mid-2010s.

Academically, Lake Central posted 46.27% proficient in SAT Math in 2025–2026, nearly double the statewide 25.6% and ahead of Crown Point High School, Hanover Central High School, Highland High School, Merrillville High School, Morton Senior High School, and Calumet New Technical High School; only Munster High School was slightly higher. Reading (66%) and biology (60.7%) scores also sit well above state averages, and the graduation rate reached 96.1% in 2024–2025 versus 89.7% statewide. The school also ranks among Indiana's top 10% for many student groups, including a 2024–2025 ranking of 1st of 119 for English Language Learner students.

The clearest concern is chronic absenteeism: 24.3%, above the district's 16.2% and the state's 16.7%, and higher than Crown Point, Highland, Hanover Central, and Munster, though lower than Merrillville, Morton, Calumet, and the Excel Center - Hammond and Excel Center - Gary. At the same time, the school spends $10,837 per pupil — lower than every nearby traditional comprehensive high school — with a 20.2 student–teacher ratio, tied with Crown Point for the highest in the comparison group. That mix points to efficient results, with attendance the clearest opportunity for improvement.

2,926

Students ?

20.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,837

Per pupil spending ?

22.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

8400 Wicker Ave
Saint John, IN 46373

(219) 365-8551

District: Lake Central School Corporation

Feeder schools for Lake Central High School:

Elementary:	George Bibich Elementary School
	Homan Elementary School
	James H Watson Elementary School
	Kolling Elementary School
	More...
	Peifer Elementary School
	Protsman Elementary School
Middle:	Hal E Clark Middle School
	Kahler Middle School
	Michael Grimmer Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

64.1%

Hispanic:

20.8%

African American:

8.3%

See top rated Indiana high schools

Compare Lake Central High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 89th percentile in 2016 → 92nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Indiana average (58% vs 39% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 8% of Indiana high schools

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the Indiana average (90%)

Worth a look

!High chronic absenteeism (24% vs 17% Indiana)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school58%

District avg58%

Indiana avg39%

33^rd of 415

Indiana public high schools ?

Top 8%▲ up 3 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

27^th of 374Lake Central 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	84.2	33 of 415	92.0%	★★★★★
2025	87.7	22 of 429	94.9%	★★★★★
2024	85.7	29 of 432	93.3%	★★★★★
2023	85.4	25 of 398	93.7%	★★★★★
2022	87.2	41 of 409	90.0%	★★★★★
2021	74.0	57 of 388	85.3%	★★★★☆
2019	71.9	62 of 389	84.1%	★★★★☆
2018	75.2	67 of 385	82.6%	★★★★☆
2017	71.3	76 of 380	80.0%	★★★★☆
2016	78.6	43 of 394	89.1%	★★★★☆
2015	70.6	52 of 400	87.0%	★★★★☆
2014	63.7	77 of 379	79.7%	★★★★☆
2013	64.7	55 of 353	84.4%	★★★★☆
2012	74.6	31 of 373	91.7%	★★★★★
2011	82.6	13 of 364	96.4%	★★★★★
2010	82.4	9 of 362	97.5%	★★★★★
2009	80.5	50 of 364	86.3%	★★★★☆
2008	84.3	27 of 360	92.5%	★★★★★
2007	84.5	28 of 354	92.1%	★★★★★
2006	86.6	21 of 349	94.0%	★★★★★
2005	86.5	22 of 349	93.7%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	86.2	12 of 133	91.0%	★★★★★
2025	79.5	22 of 132	83.3%	★★★★☆
2024	85.1	13 of 132	90.2%	★★★★★
2023	87.7	11 of 125	91.2%	★★★★★
2022	89.2	17 of 125	86.4%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	69.2	16 of 42	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	76.4	11 of 44	75.0%	★★★★☆
2024	68.8	14 of 47	70.2%	★★★★☆
2023	75.4	12 of 49	75.5%	★★★★☆
2022	70.1	18 of 44	59.1%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	85.4	10 of 122	91.8%	★★★★★
2025	98.0	1 of 119	99.2%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	82.6	33 of 395	91.6%	★★★★★
2025	86.1	21 of 387	94.6%	★★★★★
2024	87.0	24 of 392	93.9%	★★★★★
2023	87.4	20 of 388	94.8%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	88.0	12 of 194	93.8%	★★★★★
2025	92.0	7 of 181	96.1%	★★★★★
2024	92.3	9 of 184	95.1%	★★★★★
2023	92.7	7 of 166	95.8%	★★★★★
2022	82.9	30 of 164	81.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	83.6	23 of 390	94.1%	★★★★★
2025	83.4	20 of 377	94.7%	★★★★★
2024	82.9	28 of 377	92.6%	★★★★★
2023	82.5	24 of 379	93.7%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	83.2	37 of 397	90.7%	★★★★★
2025	88.5	17 of 386	95.6%	★★★★★
2024	83.3	32 of 392	91.8%	★★★★★
2023	82.4	30 of 383	92.2%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	69.8	30 of 112	73.2%	★★★★☆
2025	89.3	12 of 111	89.2%	★★★★★
2024	76.4	21 of 102	79.4%	★★★★☆
2023	89.7	9 of 104	91.3%	★★★★★
2022	96.4	3 of 94	96.8%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	77.5	36 of 292	87.7%	★★★★☆
2025	68.6	51 of 298	82.9%	★★★★☆
2024	84.6	32 of 289	88.9%	★★★★☆
2023	87.0	14 of 285	95.1%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	87.0	27 of 387	93.0%	★★★★★
2025	90.4	17 of 377	95.5%	★★★★★
2024	86.5	28 of 381	92.7%	★★★★★
2023	86.7	27 of 375	92.8%	★★★★★
2022	88.9	31 of 378	91.8%	★★★★★

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)94th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)94th percentile~ school

White (2026)93rd percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2026)92nd percentile~ school

Female (2026)92nd percentile~ school

African American (2026)91st percentile~ school

Male (2026)91st percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)88th percentile-4 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)73rd percentile-19 vs school

Asian (2026)62nd percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

Evidence-based Reading and Writing66%+14 vs state

Biology61%

Mathematics46%+21 vs state

3.4

5 ratings · 5 written reviews

5★3

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, October 16, 2019

This is the worst school district my children have ever attended! Over crowded, zero discipline, and ridiculous common core! Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, March 5, 2012

Who wrote these other reviews?! As an LC grad and a parent, I feel qualified to say that LC is an awful school. It is grossly overcrowded to a degree that makes it dangerous. Classes are large, but more importantly many teachers are just disinterested and do a poor job. If you don't mind teachers swearing at your kids or coming to school in bathrobes and high (yes, it happened..google it!)then LC is a great choice. The education is mediocre at best and the only plus I can say that you get from an LC education is that you do acquire some street smarts since you are exposed to drugs, gangs, skinheads, vicious fights, etc. etc. etc. on a daily basis.
Not to mention the administration which is full of complete dingbats who like to spend excessively and staff assistants to their assistants to their assistants. But hey, the building will be new and pretty soon. So, send your kids here and they can be poorly educated in a fancy multi million dollar metropolis! Close Quote

by a citizen
Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Lake Central High School is among the best high schools in Northwest Indiana and top 10% in the entire state. The whole district is strong academically and that is in large part due to the great staff and administration. I get the feeling that they really care about the students' wellbeing, as does the community as a whole which really supports the district. The school is strong right now, but the future looks even brighter as a brand new beautiful high school is going to be built and planned to be done in early 2015, which is awesome! So excited that this school and district are going to get even better! Way to go LC! Close Quote

by a parent on FaceBook
Thursday, August 11, 2011

The school does excellent at communication and the kids are very well socially adjusted. My son is excited to go to school everyday. Close Quote

by a parent
Saturday, February 20, 2010

Better then 4 privite schools our kids have attended. No democrats, its awesome... Close Quote

Schools Near Lake Central High 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)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)			ILEARN Math (2026)			ILEARN Science (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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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	SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 6th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts 7th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math All Grades	ILEARN Science 6th Grade	ILEARN Science All Grades	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Lake Central High School	Public	9-12	8400 Wicker Ave	Saint John	46373	Lake County	Lake Central School Corporation	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 365-8551	2,926	145	20.2	22.3%	1,875 (64.1%)	243 (8.3%)	609 (20.8%)	87 (3.0%)	7 (0.2%)	1 (0.0%)	104 (3.6%)	84.2	33^rd of 415 public high schools	92.0%		87.7	22^nd of 429 public high schools	94.9%	11	66.0	46.3									60.7	$10,837	$298	$10,539
Highland Online Public Education (HOPE)	Public	6-12	9145 Kennedy Avenue	Highland	46322	Lake County	School Town of Highland	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(219) 922-7400	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Highland High School	Public	9-12	9135 Erie St	Highland	46322	Lake County	School Town of Highland	No	No	No	No	(219) 922-5610	971	53	18.3	37.6%	476 (49.0%)	116 (11.9%)	328 (33.8%)	19 (2.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (3.2%)	47.5	209^th of 415 public high schools	49.6%		57.9	155^th of 429 public high schools	63.9%	54	50.4	23.8									29.7	$11,753	$482	$11,271
Hanover Central High School	Public	9-12	10120 W 133rd St	Cedar Lake	46303	Lake County	Hanover Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 374-3800	857	48	17.8	17.2%	599 (69.9%)	53 (6.2%)	157 (18.3%)	12 (1.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	32 (3.7%)	74.7	67^th of 415 public high schools	83.9%		55.5	167^th of 429 public high schools	61.1%	100	66.4	36.6									43.1	$12,091	$201	$11,890
Munster High School	Public	9-12	8808 Columbia Ave	Munster	46321	Lake County	School Town of Munster	No	No	No	No	(219) 836-3200	1,474	88	16.6	25.0%	663 (45.0%)	152 (10.3%)	472 (32.0%)	117 (7.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (4.7%)	90.6	17^th of 415 public high schools	95.9%		90.8	10^th of 429 public high schools	97.7%	7	77.1	48.3									65.7	$11,384	$376	$11,008
Calumet New Technical High School	Public	9-12	3900 Calhoun St	Gary	46408	Lake County	Lake Ridge New Technical Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 838-6990	620	42	14.9	90.6%	136 (21.9%)	309 (49.8%)	142 (22.9%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.7%)	12.4	363^rd of 415 public high schools	12.5%		11.2	383^rd of 429 public high schools	10.7%	20	28.5	4.4									14.4	$14,358	$1,857	$12,500
Excel Center - Gary	Public, Charter	9-12	4610 W Ridge Road	Gary	46408	Lake County	Excel Center - Gary	Yes	No	No	No	(219) 789-5236	125	8	15.6	3.2%	13 (10.4%)	84 (67.2%)	20 (16.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.6%)								(n/a)												$6,052	$594	$5,458
Merrillville High School	Public	9-12	276 E 68th Pl	Merrillville	46410	Lake County	Merrillville Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 650-5307	2,115	139	15.2	47.3%	125 (5.9%)	1,476 (69.8%)	386 (18.3%)	15 (0.7%)	3 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	109 (5.2%)	23.7	324^th of 415 public high schools	21.9%		28.3	311^th of 429 public high schools	27.5%	13	32.3	11.1									29.6	$12,245	$663	$11,582
Crown Point High School	Public	9-12	1500 S Main St	Crown Point	46307	Lake County	Crown Point Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 663-4885	3,038	151	20.1	23.3%	2,174 (71.6%)	142 (4.7%)	513 (16.9%)	108 (3.6%)	5 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	96 (3.2%)	80.6	41^st of 415 public high schools	90.1%		79.5	46^th of 429 public high schools	89.3%	5	68.5	43.8									47.4	$11,646	$319	$11,327
Excel Center - Hammond	Public, Charter	9-12	3438 169th Street	Hammond	46323	Lake County	Excel Center - Hammond	Yes	No	No	No	(219) 844-1911	205	6	34.1	7.8%	25 (12.2%)	70 (34.1%)	107 (52.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)								(n/a)												$4,789	$93	$4,696

Frequently Asked Questions about Lake Central High School

Is Lake Central High School a good school?

Yes. Lake Central High School ranks in the top 8.0% of Indiana high schools.

What district is Lake Central High School in?

Lake Central School Corporation

What is the racial makeup of Lake Central High School?

Students at Lake Central High School are 64% White, 21% Hispanic, 8% African American, 4% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

How many students attend Lake Central High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,926 students attended Lake Central High School.

What schools feed into Lake Central High School?

Lake Central High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : George Bibich Elementary School
Elementary : Homan Elementary School
Elementary : James H Watson Elementary School
Elementary : Kolling Elementary School
Elementary : Peifer Elementary School
Elementary : Protsman Elementary School
Middle : Hal E Clark Middle School
Middle : Kahler Middle School
Middle : Michael Grimmer Middle School

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2025–26 ILEARN & SAT test scoresNewSep 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.