Clarks Creek Elementary

Clarks Creek Elementary is a K–5 school at 401 Elm Dr in Plainfield, Indiana, serving 544 students as the second-largest of the five elementary schools in the Plainfield Community School Corp. It sits inside an unusually strong district — ranked 22nd of 374 in Indiana — and holds a 2025–26 state rank of 269 of 1,015 elementary schools (73rd percentile, 4 stars). All four of its Plainfield peers rank between 111 and 134 statewide, which makes Clarks Creek the lowest-ranked elementary in its own high-performing district even though it performs above the state average.

By state standards, Clarks Creek is a genuinely above-average school: it beats Indiana proficiency in every tested grade and subject, including 4th-grade ELA by 16.6 points and 3rd-grade math by 12.8. Compared with nearby schools, though, every same-district peer outscores it in every subject, and its math results trail four schools in the Avon Community School Corp by 6 to 16 points even though those schools serve similarly high or higher poverty. Clarks Creek has the district's highest free/reduced lunch rate at 62.13%, up from 50% in 2022–23, and the highest per-pupil spending ($12,078). One clear strength: chronic absenteeism is 9.7%, below both the district (11.7%) and the state (16.7%) — though Avon's schools are lower still, at 3.2%–6.6%.

The school's trend line has turned. After a long slide from 90th–94th percentile in 2015–16 to 43rd percentile in 2023–24, Clarks Creek jumped 25 percentile points in a single year, with ELA up 17.7 points, social studies up 14.9, math up 12.7, and science up 4.5. That rebound came despite its highest-ever poverty rate, suggesting instructional or programmatic changes rather than a demographic shift. The weaker spots are math — especially 5th grade, where proficiency is only 1 point above the state — and grade 5 generally, where early-grade gains appear to fade. Math instruction, 5th-grade outcomes, and attendance are the highest-leverage areas to watch.