Shenandoah Elementary School

Shenandoah Elementary School in Middletown, IN — a PK–5 school of 630 students on Raider Road, southeast of Anderson — is a consistently 4-star school that ranks 182nd of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools (82nd percentile) in 2025-26. That puts it in sharp contrast with its own district, Shenandoah School Corporation, which ranks 241 of 374 (36th percentile, 2 stars). The explanation is its neighbor: Indiana eSchool Academy K-5, a virtual school 0.16 miles away on the same campus, ranks 977 of 1,015 (4th percentile) with 2.5% math proficiency, dragging down the district average even as the brick-and-mortar school performs near the top of the state.

Math is this school's signature. 69.23% of students passed ILEARN math — 22 points above the district and 17.7 above the state — including 82.65% in 3rd grade (30.75 points above state) and 76% in 4th. ELA (53.5%) and science (62%) are also above district and state, though by smaller margins. Chronic absenteeism is 4.8%, about one-third the statewide 16.7% and far below the 21–25% at Anderson's schools. Shenandoah does this while spending $10,094 per student — less than Westwood Elementary School ($10,440) for nearly identical math results, and well below Erskine Elementary School and Valley Grove Elementary School, which spend 50–63% more per student yet post 19–23% math proficiency. It also serves more students from low-income families (52.22% free/reduced lunch) than Westwood (36%) or East Elementary School (39%), and has the largest class sizes in the comparison group (18.6 students per teacher).

Two things to watch: 5th grade, where math drops to 46.59% versus 82.65% in 3rd — a 36-point internal gap — and the social studies advantage in 5th grade narrowed to 1.7 points; and science, which jumped from 41.38% to 62% and may reflect small cohorts. Overall, this is a stable, efficient, high-performing school with elite early-grades math; the district's 2-star label understates it.