Summary:
ZIP code 46208 is home to eight schools serving roughly 3,264 students across the full K–12 pipeline — four elementary schools, three high schools, and one alternative campus, with no standalone middle schools because the elementary buildings here operate as PK–8 or K–8 campuses. Indianapolis Public Schools runs three of the eight, and enrollment is heavily concentrated: Shortridge High School alone enrolls 1,206 students, about 37% of all students in the ZIP.
Only one school performs at a genuinely strong level. Herron Preparatory Academy is the ZIP's only four-star school, ranked in the 87th percentile of districts statewide, with the area's lowest chronic absenteeism at 11.6% — the only rate below the state's 16.7% — and the strongest proficiency in the ZIP (ELA 46.37%, Math 55.97%, Science 57.43%). It achieves this while spending the least per student ($12,676). BELIEVE Circle City High School is the most improved, climbing from the 29th to the 46th percentile with the ZIP's top SAT Evidence-Based Reading & Writing result (48.48%). Shortridge High School posts the best graduation rate at 90.4%, above the state's 89.7%, but also the highest absenteeism at 57.3% alongside 9.02% SAT Math proficiency. At the other end, James Whitcomb Riley School 43 spends the most ($20,942) yet records the lowest proficiency in the ZIP, and Liberty Grove Schools carries 100% free/reduced lunch and zero stars.
Three patterns stand out for families. First, attendance tracks achievement closely: the school with the lowest absenteeism has the highest scores, while the two schools above 53% absenteeism sit at the bottom. Second, per-student spending does not predict results. Third, trajectories are diverging — BELIEVE is rising, Herron Prep is stable and strong, while George Washington Carver School 87 - a Montessori School and Herron-Riverside High School have slipped recently, and Riley 43 and Liberty Grove remain near the state floor.
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