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Pierce Middle School

Q: Is Pierce Middle School a good school?

Pierce Middle School ranks 352 nd of 486 Indiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

352^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 486 Indiana Middle Schools

Better than 28% of Indiana middle schools

Summary

Pierce Middle School is a grades 7–8 school serving 878 students in Merrillville, Indiana, part of the Merrillville Community School Corp.

Academically, Pierce Middle School sits in the bottom third of Indiana middle schools. In 2025–2026 it ranked 352nd of 486 middle schools (28th percentile, 1 star), and it has earned 1 star every year since 2021–2022 — a sustained pattern, not a one-year dip. Its percentile rank has slipped from the high-30s/low-40s in the mid-2010s. All-grade proficiency was 26.75% in English Language Arts and 19.22% in math. By grade, 7th-grade ELA was 28.57% and math 20.65%; 8th-grade ELA was 25.06% and math 17.88% — all well below state averages. One encouraging sign: math proficiency has climbed from 12.68% in 2022–2023 to 19.22% in 2025–2026. ELA has not followed that path.

Comparisons with nearby schools are informative. The same-district feeder, Merrillville Intermediate School, posts 32.29% ELA and 33.73% math in grades 5–6 — noticeably higher than Pierce's grades, with the math drop especially steep. Chronic absenteeism is a clear pressure point: 19.8% at Pierce versus 16.7% statewide, 13.2% at Merrillville Intermediate, and 11.1% at Hobart Middle School. Hobart is a useful benchmark because its free/reduced lunch rate (52.6%) is close to Pierce's 53.19%, yet its proficiency is far higher (47.49% ELA, 34.50% math). Resources don't appear to be the main constraint: Pierce spends $11,123 per student with a 12.8 student-teacher ratio — more money and smaller classes than Highland Middle School, Michael Grimmer Middle School, and Hal E Clark Middle School, all of which outperform it substantially. Pierce does outscore Bailly Middle School, Lake Ridge New Technical Middle School, and River Forest Middle School, but remains well below the higher-performing nearby districts.

878

Students ?

12.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,123

Per pupil spending ?

53.2%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

199 E 70th Pl
Merrillville, IN 46410

(219) 650-5308

District: Merrillville Community School Corp

Students who attend Pierce Middle School usually attend:

High:

Merrillville High School

Feeder schools for Pierce Middle 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

Racial breakdown:

African American:

66.2%

Hispanic:

20.8%

White:

6.6%

See top rated Indiana middle schools

Compare Pierce Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 41st percentile in 2016 → 28th in 2026

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg31%

352^nd of 486

Indiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 28%▼ down 14 pts since 2016

From bottom 41% (2016) to bottom 28% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Indiana Middle 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	27.3	352 of 486	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.9	363 of 480	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.8	356 of 491	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.8	349 of 489	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.4	346 of 490	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	41.1	293 of 483	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.9	333 of 470	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	43.7	303 of 473	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2017	41.2	316 of 472	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	49.1	291 of 494	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	31.1	374 of 485	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	31.4	377 of 470	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	31.2	350 of 444	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	35.8	342 of 447	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	37.2	351 of 451	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	43.5	295 of 428	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2009	24.5	358 of 423	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	29.0	327 of 392	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	33.9	314 of 382	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	36.2	296 of 375	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	50.4	219 of 370	40.8%	★★☆☆☆

By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts27%

Math19%

1.0

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Schools Near Pierce Middle 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)				ILEARN English Language Arts (2026)					ILEARN Math (2026)					ILEARN Science (2026)		ILEARN Social Studies (2026)	ILEARN Biology (2026)	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/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	ILEARN English Language Arts 5th 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 5th Grade	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 Social Studies 5th Grade	ILEARN Biology End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Pierce Middle School	Public	7-8	199 E 70th Pl	Merrillville	46410	Lake County	Merrillville Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 650-5308	878	69	12.8	53.2%	58 (6.6%)	581 (66.2%)	183 (20.8%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (5.7%)	27.3	352^nd of 486 public middle schools	27.6%		23.9	363^rd of 480 public middle schools	24.4%	11			28.6	25.1	26.8			20.7	17.9	19.2					$11,123	$835	$10,288
Merrillville Intermediate School	Public	5-6	1400 W 61st Ave	Merrillville	46410	Lake County	Merrillville Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 650-5306	788	61	13.0	54.4%	66 (8.4%)	494 (62.7%)	167 (21.2%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (7.4%)								(n/a)	30.7	33.9			32.3	35.7	31.7			33.7	30.2	30.2	36.2		$11,520	$1,224	$10,296
Bailly Middle School	Public	6-8	4621 Georgia St	Gary	46409	Lake County	Gary Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 980-6326	355	28	12.7	60.0%	7 (2.0%)	292 (82.3%)	34 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.6%)	4.9	478^th of 486 public middle schools	1.6%		9.2	446^th of 480 public middle schools	7.1%	32		8.6	6.1	5.6	6.8		2.1	0.9	4.0	2.4	5.7	5.7		0.0	$18,063	$5,461	$12,602
Lake Ridge New Technical Middle School	Public	5-8	3601 W 41st Ave	Gary	46408	Lake County	Lake Ridge New Technical Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 980-0730	447	27	16.8	97.5%	125 (28.0%)	175 (39.1%)	122 (27.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.1%)	13.2	433^rd of 486 public middle schools	10.9%		9.5	443^rd of 480 public middle schools	7.7%	10	10.0	20.5	10.7	26.0	17.1	7.8	10.9	5.9	5.8	7.7	17.1	17.1	8.9		$13,528	$2,656	$10,873
Hobart Middle School	Public	6-8	36 E 8th St	Hobart	46342	Lake County	School City of Hobart	No	No	No	No	(219) 942-8541	905	50	18.2	52.6%	574 (63.4%)	85 (9.4%)	210 (23.2%)	5 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (3.0%)	61.9	174^th of 486 public middle schools	64.2%		62.1	169^th of 480 public middle schools	64.8%	5		45.1	46.0	51.5	47.5		37.9	33.1	32.2	34.5	35.9	35.9		81.7	$12,110	$406	$11,705
Colonel John Wheeler Middle School	Public	6-8	401 W Joliet St	Crown Point	46307	Lake County	Crown Point Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 663-2173	1,061	57	18.5	27.0%	784 (73.9%)	28 (2.6%)	167 (15.7%)	24 (2.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (5.4%)	87.4	48^th of 486 public middle schools	90.1%		84.7	60^th of 480 public middle schools	87.5%	12		50.9	59.0	60.6	57.0		61.5	62.9	52.6	58.7	46.7	46.7		100.0	$11,253	$385	$10,868
River Forest Middle School	Public	6-8	3300 Indiana St	Hobart	46342	Lake County	River Forest Community School Corp	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 962-7551	369	25	14.7	74.0%	117 (31.7%)	64 (17.3%)	157 (42.5%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	27 (7.3%)	20.7	385^th of 486 public middle schools	20.8%		21.1	375^th of 480 public middle schools	21.9%	10		18.7	29.1	30.5	26.3		14.0	20.5	7.7	14.1	10.3	10.3			$9,950	$713	$9,237
Hal E Clark Middle School	Public	5-8	8915 W 93rd Ave	Saint John	46373	Lake County	Lake Central School Corporation	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 365-8507	1,032	60	17.2	22.1%	691 (67.0%)	79 (7.7%)	203 (19.7%)	10 (1.0%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (4.5%)	84	60^th of 486 public middle schools	87.7%		78.1	91^st of 480 public middle schools	81.0%	31	56.7	55.7	62.7	69.0	61.0	61.5	52.0	46.3	49.1	51.8	43.0	43.0	64.4		$10,313	$518	$9,796
Robert Taft Middle School	Public	6-8	1000 S Main	Crown Point	46307	Lake County	Crown Point Community School Corp	No	No	No	No	(219) 663-1507	1,067	59	18.2	22.4%	758 (71.0%)	59 (5.5%)	182 (17.1%)	37 (3.5%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (2.5%)	91.9	27^th of 486 public middle schools	94.4%		87.2	47^th of 480 public middle schools	90.2%	20		60.8	64.1	74.6	66.6		59.9	52.2	57.7	56.4	53.4	53.4		97.7	$11,216	$371	$10,846
Michael Grimmer Middle School	Public	5-8	225 W 77th Ave	Schererville	46375	Lake County	Lake Central School Corporation	No	No	No	Yes	(219) 865-6985	814	44	18.5	30.7%	455 (55.9%)	86 (10.6%)	203 (24.9%)	22 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.9%)	41 (5.0%)	78.9	87^th of 486 public middle schools	82.1%		86	54^th of 480 public middle schools	88.8%	33	58.0	57.1	58.9	59.3	58.3	56.2	42.6	36.8	36.7	42.8	59.3	59.3	60.4		$10,765	$144	$10,622

Frequently Asked Questions about Pierce Middle School

What is the racial makeup of Pierce Middle School?

Students at Pierce Middle School are 66% African American, 21% Hispanic, 7% White, 6% Two or more races.

Is Pierce Middle School a good school?

Pierce Middle School ranks 352^nd of 486 Indiana middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Pierce Middle School in?

Merrillville Community School Corp

What high school do graduates of Pierce Middle School attend?

Students who attend Pierce Middle School usually go on to attend Merrillville High School

How many students attend Pierce Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 878 students attended Pierce Middle School.

Rate Pierce Middle School!

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Schools in Merrillville, IN

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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.