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James Cole Elementary School

Public Grades K-5
434th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,015 Indiana Elementary Schools
Better than 57% of Indiana elementary schools
Summary

James Cole Elementary School is a K–5 school in Lafayette, IN, serving 321 students as part of Tippecanoe School Corp, a district that ranks 83rd of 374 Indiana districts (78th percentile, 4 stars).

Academically, the school is currently middle-of-the-road. In 2025–2026 it ranked 434th of 1,015 Indiana elementary schools (57th percentile, 3 stars), down from 275th of 1,005 (73rd percentile, 4 stars) the year before. Reading/language arts is the clearest gap: 38.55% proficiency, about 13 points below the district's 51.44% and lower than every nearby Tippecanoe school except Mayflower Mill Elementary School. Math, at 51.2%, is essentially tied with the district, and science (44.23%) beats the state's 4th-grade benchmark of 43.8% but trails the district. Grade levels split sharply: 5th grade shines in math at 60.34% (district 52.44%, state 42%), while 3rd- and 4th-grade reading and math fall below both district and state — 4th-grade reading at 30.77% is the weakest result. Notably, results declined across reading, math, science, and 5th-grade social studies compared with 2024–2025.

Attendance is a genuine strength: chronic absenteeism was 7.1% in 2024–2025, better than the district's 10.5% and the state's 16.7%, and lower than every nearby school except Wyandotte Elementary (6.8%). With 31.78% of students on free/reduced lunch, the school has less economic disadvantage than Wea Ridge Elementary School, Mayflower Mill Elementary School, Woodland Elementary School, Dayton Elementary School, and the Lafayette School Corporation schools. Spending was $10,692 per student in 2023–2024, typical for Tippecanoe but below Lafayette peers, and the 16:1 student-teacher ratio is not especially low. Worth noting: at 321 students, it is smaller than every same-district neighbor.

321
Students ?
16.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,692
Per pupil spending ?
31.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 6418 E 900 S
       Lafayette, IN  47909

(765) 523-2141

District: Tippecanoe School Corp


Students who attend James Cole Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Wainwright Middle School
High:    McCutcheon High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
86.6%
Hispanic:
10.6%
Asian:
1.2%
more
 See top rated Indiana elementary schools

 Compare James Cole Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 55th percentile in 2016 → 57th in 2026
Strengths
✓Above the Indiana median (57th percentile)
Worth a look
!Near the bottom of Tippecanoe School Corp's ranking
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school46%
District avg52%
Indiana avg47%
434th of 1,015
Indiana public elementary schools ?
Top 43%▲ up 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Indiana Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
10th of 11Elementary Schools in the Tippecanoe School Corp
83rd of 374Tippecanoe 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIndiana percentileRating
202656.5434 of 101557.2%★★★☆☆
202571.1275 of 100572.6%★★★★☆
202463.8368 of 101163.6%★★★☆☆
202369.7307 of 101669.8%★★★☆☆
202272.1282 of 102072.4%★★★★☆
202172.8269 of 101673.5%★★★★☆
201981.0157 of 103184.8%★★★★☆
201869.4320 of 102768.8%★★★☆☆
201765.6380 of 103363.2%★★★☆☆
201660.6468 of 104655.3%★★★☆☆
201573.8237 of 104077.2%★★★★☆
201468.4337 of 103667.5%★★★☆☆
201362.4443 of 103557.2%★★★☆☆
201269.7288 of 101571.6%★★★★☆
201147.8651 of 102536.5%★★☆☆☆
201068.1332 of 100967.1%★★★☆☆
200949.2611 of 100339.1%★★☆☆☆
200871.5247 of 99675.2%★★★★☆
200771.4259 of 98573.7%★★★★☆
200664.5347 of 96163.9%★★★☆☆
200562.6366 of 95961.8%★★★☆☆
By subject vs Indiana (2025-2026) ?
Social Studies52%+5 vs state
Math51%
Science44%
English Language Arts39%

★
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Schools Near James Cole Elementary School

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Frequently Asked Questions about James Cole Elementary School

James Cole Elementary School ranks 434th of 1015 Indiana elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students who attend James Cole Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Wainwright Middle School
High : McCutcheon High School

Students at James Cole Elementary School are 87% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 321 students attended James Cole Elementary School.

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Latest Indiana data All new data »
2025–26 ILEARN & SAT test scoresNewSep 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.

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