Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Merrillville High School

Q: Is Merrillville High School a good school?

Merrillville High School ranks 311 th of 429 Indiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

311^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 429 Indiana High Schools

Better than 28% of Indiana high schools

Summary

Merrillville High School is a public high school located in Merrillville, Indiana, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 2,051 students. The school is part of the Merrillville Community School Corporation, which is ranked 262 out of 380 districts in Indiana and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Merrillville High School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Indiana high schools, with a ranking between 278-343 out of 380-429 schools over the past 10 years. Its performance on standardized tests is also below the state average, with only 28.87% of students proficient or better in ILEARN/Biology and 37.38% proficient or better in SAT/Evidence-based Reading and Writing in the 2024-2025 school year. The school's four-year graduation rate ranges from 87.2% to 93.1%, which is slightly below the state average, and it has a high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 17.8% to 26.6% in recent years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, Merrillville High School has a high percentage of students (59.29% to 63.91%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a relatively low socioeconomic status of the student population.

While Merrillville High School performs relatively well in certain student subgroups, such as African American and White students, it struggles with other subgroups, such as English Language Learners and Special Education students. Compared to nearby high-performing schools, such as Crown Point High School, which ranks in the top 10% of Indiana high schools, Merrillville High School has significant room for improvement in academic achievement, graduation rates, and overall school climate and culture. Schools like Neighbors' New Vistas High School, Thomas A. Edison Junior-Senior High School, and Gary Middle College have even lower academic performance and rankings compared to Merrillville High School.

2,115

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,245

Per pupil spending ?

47.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

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 — 16th percentile in 2015 → 28th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 12 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Indiana average (26% vs 42% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (26% vs 17% Indiana)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg26%

Indiana avg42%

311^th of 429

Indiana public high schools ?

Bottom 28%▲ up 12 pts since 2015

From bottom 16% (2015) to bottom 28% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

262^nd of 380Merrillville 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
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
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
2025	19.2	117 of 119	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Indiana percentile	Rating
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
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
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
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
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
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
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)

African American (2025)73rd percentile+45 vs school

White (2025)66th percentile+38 vs school

Hispanic (2025)59th percentile+32 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)51st percentile+24 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)32nd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)22nd percentile-5 vs school

Male (2025)19th percentile-8 vs school

Special Education (2025)15th percentile-13 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)2nd percentile-26 vs school

By subject vs Indiana (2024-2025) ?

Evidence-based Reading and Writing37%-17 vs state

Biology29%-17 vs state

Mathematics13%-12 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate Merrillville High School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

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

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing (2025)	SAT Mathematics (2025)	ILEARN English Language Arts (2025)				ILEARN Math (2025)				ILEARN Science (2025)		ILEARN Biology (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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%)	28.3	311^th of 429 public high schools	27.5%		23.5	331^st of 432 public high schools	23.4%	20	37.4	13.1											28.9	$12,245	$663	$11,582
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)
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%)	15.9	364^th of 429 public high schools	15.2%		17.6	354^th of 432 public high schools	18.1%	10	31.3	3.1											23.7	$12,283	$332	$11,952
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%)	4.6	416^th of 429 public high schools	3.0%					(n/a)	0.0	0.0												$6,052	$594	$5,458
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%)	50.9	200^th of 429 public high schools	53.4%		53.1	176^th of 432 public high schools	59.3%	24	53.8	19.0											36.9	$12,431	$881	$11,550
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%)	11.2	383^rd of 429 public high schools	10.7%		15.8	367^th of 432 public high schools	15.0%	16	23.6	4.9											14.1	$14,358	$1,857	$12,500
Griffth Junior/Senior High School	Public	6-12	600 N Wiggs St	Griffith	46319	Lake County	Griffith Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(219) 924-4281	1,112	70	16.0	55.9%	465 (41.8%)	236 (21.2%)	347 (31.2%)	7 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	53 (4.8%)	40.4	264^th of 429 public high schools	38.5%		36.8	277^th of 432 public high schools	35.9%	13	54.8	11.5	36.6	21.2	32.6	30.0	44.8	26.0	20.2	30.7	42.1	42.1	33.3	$10,281	$547	$9,735
Neighbors' New Vistas High School	Public, Charter	9-12	5201 US Highway 6	Portage	46368	Porter County	Neighbors' New Vistas High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(219) 850-4448	139	10	13.9	50.4%	77 (55.4%)	31 (22.3%)	21 (15.1%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.8%)	10.9	386^th of 429 public high schools	10.0%		13.7	376^th of 432 public high schools	13.0%	10	20.8	4.2												$16,432	$2,037	$14,394
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%)	15.1	372^nd of 429 public high schools	13.3%		13.8	375^th of 432 public high schools	13.2%	3	31.3	2.5	17.7	15.9	22.4	18.8	12.7	8.7	4.0	8.5	22.1	22.1	22.3	$12,023	$790	$11,233
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%)	79.5	46^th of 429 public high schools	89.3%		77.2	54^th of 432 public high schools	87.5%	8	72.0	39.5											49.6	$11,646	$319	$11,327

Frequently Asked Questions about 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.

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

Is Merrillville High School a good school?

Merrillville High School ranks 311^th of 429 Indiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Merrillville High School?

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

What district is Merrillville High School in?

Merrillville Community School Corp

Rate Merrillville High School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

INIndiana High School Rankings

INIndiana District Rankings

Schools in Merrillville, IN

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Merrillville High School!

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.