Carlisle Middle School

Carlisle Middle School is a small public school serving 80 students in grades 6–8 in Carlisle, Indiana, part of Southwest School Corporation. It serves a relatively high-poverty population: 65% of students qualified for free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025, the highest rate among nearby middle schools. The school has a notably low student-teacher ratio of 11.2 and spent $11,828 per student in 2023–2024. In 2025–2026, it ranked 261 of 486 Indiana schools, placing it in the 46th percentile with 2 stars; Southwest School Corporation ranked 227 of 374 districts, in the 39th percentile with 2 stars.

Academically, the picture is mixed. English/language arts is a relative strength: all-grade ELA proficiency was 40% in 2025–2026, above the district’s 29.17% and Sullivan Middle School’s 33.63%, though below White River Valley Middle School’s 42.65% and Linton-Stockton Middle School’s 52.04%. Math is the clearest weakness. Carlisle’s all-grade math proficiency was 23.53%, below the district’s 29.69%, below Sullivan’s 30.36%, and far below White River Valley’s 42.96% and Linton-Stockton’s 42.18%. Math has stayed in the low 20s for several years, and 7th and 8th grade math results are especially low. Science was 35.71%, slightly above the district’s 33.85% but behind Sullivan’s 38.46%, White River Valley’s 56%, and Linton-Stockton’s 60.22%.

Other factors are worth watching. Chronic absenteeism rose to 14.8% in 2024–2025 from 9.2% in 2023–2024 and 7.7% in 2022–2023; it remains below the state’s 16.7% and better than Sullivan’s 16.4% and White River Valley’s 15.6%, but worse than Linton-Stockton’s 10.2%. The school’s rank history is mostly 2 stars, with occasional 3-star years and one 4-star year in 2017–2018, and recent momentum has slipped. Biology end-of-course results have swung widely and may reflect small cohorts. Despite low class sizes and spending above some peers, achievement gaps persist, especially in math. Families may want to ask how Carlisle supports math learning in grades 7–8 and how it plans to keep attendance strong.