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Pike Central High School

Public Grades 9-12
274th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 415 Indiana High Schools
Better than 34% of Indiana high schools
Summary

Pike Central High School is a public 9–12 high school in Petersburg, Indiana, serving about 450 students in the Pike County School Corp. It is smaller than nearby Jasper High School, Washington High School, Southridge High School, Princeton Community High School, South Knox Middle-High School, and Barr Reeve Middle/High School, but larger than Tecumseh High School and Waldo J Wood Memorial High. In 2025–2026, the school ranked 274th of 415 Indiana schools (34th percentile, 2 stars). The district ranks 231st of 374 districts (38th percentile, 2 stars). After a 2021–2022 peak at 55th percentile (3 stars), it fell to 25th percentile (1 star) in 2022–2023 and has since recovered into the low 30s.

Graduation is a relative strength: 92.7% in 2024–2025, 3 percentage points above the state, though lower than most nearby high schools, such as Barr Reeve Middle/High School at 100% and South Knox Middle-High School at 97.9%. Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge: 25.4% in 2024–2025, 8.7 points above the state and 6.0 points above the district. Only Washington High School (35.1%) was higher among nearby schools; Barr Reeve Middle/High School was 3.6% and Jasper High School 7.8%. SAT reading was 43% versus 51.9%, and SAT math 17% versus 25.6%. Biology was 30.97%, near Jasper High School and Washington High School, above Southridge High School, Princeton Community High School, and Waldo J Wood Memorial High, but below South Knox Middle-High School, Tecumseh High School, and Barr Reeve Middle/High School.

The school spends $13,916 per student and has a student-teacher ratio of 11.1, but resources alone do not explain its outcomes. Subgroup effectiveness varies: special education results have been very low, including a 7th percentile, 0-star rating in 2024–2025, while low-income student effectiveness improved to the 42nd percentile in 2025–2026. It is a small rural high school with above-state graduation and moderate spending. Its main challenges are chronic absenteeism, below-state SAT reading and math, and uneven subgroup effectiveness, especially for special education students. Its rank has stabilized in the low 30s percentile but remains below most surrounding high schools and below its own 2020–2022 peak.

450
Students ?
11.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,916
Per pupil spending ?
42.7%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 1810 E Sr 56
       Petersburg, IN  47567

(812) 354-8478

District: Pike County School Corp


Feeder schools for Pike Central High School:

Elementary:    Petersburg Elementary School
    Winslow Elementary School
Middle:    Pike Central Middle School
Racial breakdown:

White:
94.9%
Two or more races:
2.4%
Hispanic:
2.0%
more
 See top rated Indiana high schools

 Compare Pike Central High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 25th percentile in 2023 → 34th in 2026
Strengths
✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the Indiana average (90%)
✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 34th (2026) from a 25th-percentile low (2023)
✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Indiana average (30% vs 39% meeting standards)
!High chronic absenteeism (25% vs 17% Indiana)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school30%
District avg30%
Indiana avg39%
274th of 415
Indiana public high schools ?
Bottom 34%▼ down 11 pts since 2016
From bottom 45% (2016) to bottom 34% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
231st of 374Pike County School Corp 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202636.2274 of 41534.0%★★☆☆☆
202532.3300 of 42930.1%★★☆☆☆
202435.0283 of 43234.5%★★☆☆☆
202327.5299 of 39824.9%★☆☆☆☆
202255.2184 of 40955.0%★★★☆☆
202149.5182 of 38853.1%★★★☆☆
201946.8207 of 38946.8%★★☆☆☆
201845.3238 of 38538.2%★★☆☆☆
201742.6238 of 38037.4%★★☆☆☆
201648.5215 of 39445.4%★★☆☆☆
201544.2229 of 40042.8%★★☆☆☆
201439.6220 of 37942.0%★★☆☆☆
201346.5158 of 35355.2%★★★☆☆
201251.6142 of 37361.9%★★★☆☆
201148.0174 of 36452.2%★★★☆☆
201038.4211 of 36241.7%★★☆☆☆
200952.8217 of 36440.4%★★☆☆☆
200853.6206 of 36042.8%★★☆☆☆
200750.8212 of 35440.1%★★☆☆☆
200662.1131 of 34962.5%★★★☆☆
200552.3200 of 34942.7%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202626.2296 of 39525.1%★☆☆☆☆
202536.6251 of 38735.1%★★☆☆☆
202422.5312 of 39220.4%★☆☆☆☆
202328.7291 of 38825.0%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202640.5227 of 39041.8%★★☆☆☆
202529.0286 of 37724.1%★☆☆☆☆
202418.4321 of 37714.9%★☆☆☆☆
202330.3284 of 37925.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202643.5218 of 39745.1%★★☆☆☆
202526.0298 of 38622.8%★☆☆☆☆
202439.2235 of 39240.1%★★☆☆☆
202324.9301 of 38321.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202518.8277 of 2987.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202423.9226 of 28921.8%★☆☆☆☆
202315.8278 of 2852.5%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202627.1299 of 38722.7%★☆☆☆☆
202522.4315 of 37716.4%★☆☆☆☆
202424.0310 of 38118.6%★☆☆☆☆
202319.1329 of 37512.3%★☆☆☆☆
202244.3211 of 37844.2%★★☆☆☆
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)
Male (2026)45th percentile+11 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)42nd percentile+8 vs school
Female (2026)25th percentile-9 vs school
White (2026)23rd percentile-11 vs school
Special Education (2025)7th percentile-23 vs school
By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?
Evidence-based Reading and Writing43%-9 vs state
Biology31%
Mathematics17%-9 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Pike Central High School

Pike Central High School ranks 274th of 415 Indiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Pike Central High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Petersburg Elementary School
Elementary : Winslow Elementary School
Middle : Pike Central Middle School

Students at Pike Central High School are 95% White, 2% Two or more races, 2% Hispanic.

In the 2024-25 school year, 450 students attended Pike Central High 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.

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