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Merrillville High School

Public Grades 9-12

324^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 415 Indiana High Schools

Better than 22% of Indiana high schools

Summary

Merrillville High School is a large public high school in Merrillville, Indiana, serving grades 9–12 with 2,115 students in the Merrillville Community School Corp. In 2025–2026, it ranked 324th of 415 Indiana high schools (22nd percentile, 1 star), while its district ranked 256th of 374 (32nd percentile, 2 stars). The school has earned 1 star in every listed year since 2015–2016, with percentile ranks ranging from 12 to 28, so its recent results remain in the lower tier.

Academically, proficiency is the main concern. In 2025–2026, SAT ERW proficiency was 32.3% versus 51.9% statewide, and SAT Math was 11.11% versus 25.6% statewide. Biology ILEARN was 28.87% in 2024–2025 versus 45.6% statewide. By contrast, the graduation rate is a relative strength: 91.2% in 2024–2025, above the state’s 89.7% and above state for five reported years. Chronic absenteeism is 25.7% in 2024–2025, above the district’s 19.6% and the state’s 16.7%. Nearby Crown Point High School, Hobart High School, and Highland High School have lower absenteeism and much higher test proficiency, while River Forest High School, Calumet New Technical High School, Thomas A Edison Junior-Senior High School, Gary Middle College, and Excel Center - Gary generally rank lower or face larger attendance challenges.

Resources and class size do not appear to explain the gap. The school spent $12,245 per student in 2023–2024 and had a 15.2 student-teacher ratio in 2024–2025—better staffing than Crown Point High School ($11,646; 20.1), Hobart High School ($12,431; 20.1), and Highland High School ($11,753; 18.3), though those schools outperform it academically. Subgroup effectiveness varies: English learners ranked at the 73rd percentile in 2025–2026, and special education students improved to the 31st percentile, while low-income, female, and male students ranked near or below the school’s overall 22nd percentile. Overall, the school is stronger than the lowest local tier but far behind the leading nearby comprehensive high schools; its biggest challenges are low math and reading proficiency and high chronic absenteeism.

2,115

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,447

Per pupil spending ?

47.3%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

276 E 68th Pl
Merrillville, IN 46410

(219) 650-5307

District: Merrillville Community School Corp

Feeder schools for Merrillville High School:

Elementary:	Edgar L Miller Elementary School
	Henry P Fieler Elementary School
	Homer Iddings Elementary School
	John Wood Elementary School
	More...
	Jonas E Salk Elementary School
Middle:	Merrillville Intermediate School
	Pierce Middle School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

69.8%

Hispanic:

18.3%

White:

5.9%

See top rated Indiana high schools

Compare Merrillville High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 13th percentile in 2016 → 22nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (24% vs 39% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 15% Indiana)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school24%

District avg24%

Indiana avg39%

324^th of 415

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 22%▲ up 9 pts since 2016

From bottom 13% (2016) to bottom 22% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

256^th of 374Merrillville Community 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	23.7	324 of 415	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.3	311 of 429	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.5	331 of 432	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.8	322 of 398	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.6	325 of 409	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.8	278 of 388	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.5	299 of 389	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.1	318 of 385	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.4	336 of 380	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.4	343 of 394	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	21.7	338 of 400	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	37.3	238 of 379	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2013	35.6	222 of 353	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	42.6	208 of 373	44.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	48.1	172 of 364	52.7%	★★★☆☆
2010	32.2	248 of 362	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	40.6	272 of 364	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	24.7	317 of 360	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	34.9	284 of 354	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	41.7	258 of 349	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	45.0	233 of 349	33.2%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	52.6	45 of 133	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	55.8	36 of 132	72.7%	★★★★☆
2024	51.4	43 of 132	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.6	40 of 125	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	57.4	40 of 125	68.0%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	55.4	33 of 122	73.0%	★★★★☆
2025	19.2	117 of 119	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	20.1	318 of 395	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.1	301 of 387	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.1	319 of 392	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.4	309 of 388	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	50.7	80 of 194	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	52.9	74 of 181	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	44.4	89 of 184	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	37.5	101 of 166	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	59.1	52 of 164	68.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	26.9	299 of 390	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	35.8	258 of 377	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.7	271 of 377	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	305 of 379	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	25.2	299 of 397	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.1	311 of 386	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.7	309 of 392	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	333 of 383	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	20.4	90 of 112	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	41.9	54 of 111	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.6	62 of 102	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	21.8	83 of 104	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.7	50 of 94	46.8%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	33.1	202 of 292	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.3	254 of 298	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.6	265 of 289	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.9	240 of 285	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
2026	64.2	90 of 387	76.7%	★★★★☆
2025	56.3	130 of 377	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	59.9	104 of 381	72.7%	★★★★☆
2023	73.5	54 of 375	85.6%	★★★★☆
2022	59.6	142 of 378	62.4%	★★★☆☆

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)

White (2026)77th percentile+55 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)73rd percentile+51 vs school

African American (2026)66th percentile+44 vs school

Hispanic (2026)59th percentile+37 vs school

Special Education (2026)31st percentile+9 vs school

Male (2026)25th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)23rd percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)20th percentile~ school

Female (2026)19th percentile~ school

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

Evidence-based Reading and Writing32%-20 vs state

Biology30%

Mathematics11%-14 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Merrillville High School used to be a very solid school with dedicated staff, dedicated parents, and dedicated students! No longer...this school is the worst SUBURBAN school in the region! I graduated as a proud Merrillville Pirate! No longer...my family is now proud supporters of the Crown Point Bulldogs and many of my fellow alumn have made that decision as well. There are even more future families making that decision...We used to hate the Bulldogs...how times change!

Merrillville needs to do more to ensure that families who are sending their children to school here actually live in the Merrillville school district. Merrillville also needs to address the fact that gang violence and drugs are rampant even at MIS! It's a shame.

I am glad my last child will be graduating from CPHS. Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Over the past few years, Merrillville High has received a bad rap for being one of the most problematic schools in Northwest, IN, when in reality, MHS is a great school. Not only does it host some of the finest facilities in the state, and fantastic football and B/G basketball teams, every student is given the proper tools to receive a great education. In recent years, there has been a large influx of students moving to Merrillville and transferring to MHS. Many of these students came from schools where there were ineffective teachers, so they had trouble learning and passing ISTEP (which results in a lower ISTEP score for the school and its ranking among other schools in the state). When they arrive at MHS though, many dedicated and supportive teachers spend their time before and after school helping those students that need help. There is even an optional after-school program where you can get help for any subject. If you need more proof at how MHS is a great school, look at the graduation rate for Indiana and compare it to the graduation rate of MHS. The Indiana graduation rate is in the 70% to 80% range, but the graduation rate for the class of 2010 was 90.8% (approximately 507 out about 550 seniors graduated!!) The class of 2009 had a graduation rate of 87.3% (that's over a 3% increase between 2009 and 2010!!) I promise, as a current student attending Merrillville High School, MHS is one of the best schools a student could possibly attend. Close Quote

Schools Near Merrillville 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 (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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 8th Grade	ILEARN English Language Arts All Grades	ILEARN Math 6th Grade	ILEARN Math 7th Grade	ILEARN Math 8th 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
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	$12,447	$536	$11,911
Gary Career Center	Public	6-12	1800 E 35th Ave	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 962-7571	0	14	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)														$00
River Forest High School	Public	9-12	3300 Indiana St	Hobart	46342	Lake County	River Forest Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 962-7551	565	28	20.1	72.0%	152 (26.9%)	136 (24.1%)	238 (42.1%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.7%)	18.9	337^th of 415 public high schools	18.8%		15.9	364^th of 429 public high schools	15.2%	27	31.4	5.0											28.9	$13,127	$285	$12,842
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)														$5,500	$203	$5,296
Hobart High School	Public	9-12	2211 E Tenth St	Hobart	46342	Lake County	School City of Hobart	No	No	No	No	(219) 942-8521	1,320	66	20.1	51.3%	780 (59.1%)	120 (9.1%)	355 (26.9%)	16 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (3.6%)	52.6	177^th of 415 public high schools	57.3%		50.9	200^th of 429 public high schools	53.4%	23	55.7	19.2											33.5	$12,437	$392	$12,045
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	$16,504	$1,547	$14,957
Options New Vistas High School	Public, Charter	9-12	5201 US Highway 6	Portage	46368	Porter County	Options Charter Schools	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(219) 850-4448	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	13.1	359^th of 415 public high schools	13.5%					(n/a)	30.8	0.0												$3,776	$170	$3,605
Thomas A Edison Junior-Senior High School	Public	6-12	3304 Parkside Ave	Lake Station	46405	Lake County	Lake Station Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 962-8531	595	32	18.4	71.8%	204 (34.3%)	100 (16.8%)	262 (44.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.7%)	13	360^th of 415 public high schools	13.3%		15.1	372^nd of 429 public high schools	13.3%	12	24.7	3.5	5.5	17.1	16.9	13.9	9.1	9.8	6.2	8.4	18.0	18.0	22.8	$11,487	$534	$10,953
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	$11,922	$243	$11,680
Gary Middle College	Public, Charter	9-12	131 East 5th Ave	Gary	46402	Lake County	Gary Middle College	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 888-7120	202	10	14.9	26.2%	5 (2.5%)	175 (86.6%)	16 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)	7	401^st of 415 public high schools	3.4%		4.9	414^th of 429 public high schools	3.5%	13	9.4	3.1												$7,886	$357	$7,528

Frequently Asked Questions about Merrillville High School

What schools feed into Merrillville High School?

Merrillville High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Edgar L Miller Elementary School
Elementary : Henry P Fieler Elementary School
Elementary : Homer Iddings Elementary School
Elementary : John Wood Elementary School
Elementary : Jonas E Salk Elementary School
Middle : Merrillville Intermediate School
Middle : Pierce Middle School

What district is Merrillville High School in?

Merrillville Community School Corp

How many students attend Merrillville High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,115 students attended Merrillville High School.

What is the racial makeup of Merrillville High School?

Students at Merrillville High School are 70% African American, 18% Hispanic, 6% White, 5% Two or more races.

Is Merrillville High School a good school?

Merrillville High School ranks in the bottom 21.9% of Indiana high schools.

Rate Merrillville High School!

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Latest Indiana data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataOct 28, 2026

2025–26 attendance dataOct 28, 2026

2024–25 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 20, 2026

2023–24 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

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.