Central Elementary School

Central Elementary School is a K–5 school at 110 Wabash St. in Plainfield, Indiana, serving 549 students — the largest of the five Plainfield Community School Corp elementaries — in a district that ranks 22nd of 374 Indiana districts (94th percentile, 5 stars).

Central stands out in this comparison group for what it does with less. Its per-pupil spending of $8,941 in 2023–24 is the lowest of the nine schools compared here and roughly 23% below that group's average, and its free/reduced-lunch rate of 32.24% is also the lowest of the nine. Chronic absenteeism of 7.9% in 2024–25 is well below the district (11.7%) and less than half the state (16.7%), though Avon elementaries such as Hickory (3.2%) and Maple (4.6%) run lower still. Achievement is above district and state in every subject — ELA 63.19%, math 63.89%, science 63.21%, and 5th-grade social studies 61.86% against a state figure of 47.20% — but that still places Central third of five Plainfield elementaries in ELA and math.

The bigger story is a decade-long drift. Central spent most of the past ten years in the top 5% of Indiana elementaries — 96th percentile in 2017–18 — but sits at 87th percentile (134th of 1,015, 4 stars) in 2025–26, the lowest of its record. Math is the swing factor: it fell 4.0 points (67.89% to 63.89%) in a year when the district dipped only 0.2 points. Weak spots cluster in the lower grades: 3rd-grade ELA at 51.76% trails the district (55.44%), and 3rd grade is the only grade where Central trails the district in both ELA and math, while 4th-grade math (63.21%) sits 5.4 points below district. Comparisons cut both ways. Clarks Creek Elementary spends $3,137 more per student yet scores about 10 points lower in ELA; meanwhile Maple Elementary School and Cedar Elementary School, with far higher poverty rates, post higher ELA and math results.