Summary:
Zip code 46220 on Indianapolis's north side is home to 8 schools — 5 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high — serving roughly 3,107 students in grades pre-K through 12, spread across Indianapolis Public Schools, MSD Washington Township, MSD Lawrence Township, and two standalone charter districts. Enrollment ranges widely, from 131 students at ACE Preparatory Academy to 845 at Eastwood Middle School, with a median school size of 330.5.
The top of the range is unusually strong. Merle Sidener Academy 59 ranks in the 94th percentile with 5 stars and posts 75.94% math and 72.73% science proficiency. Joseph J. Bingham School 84 is close behind at the 91st percentile, 5 stars, with 70.47% math proficiency, the zip's lowest chronic absenteeism at 4.3% and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate at 11.94%. Eastwood Middle School ranks in the 78th percentile, 4 stars, and has climbed from the 51st percentile three years ago. The zip's only high school, Purdue Polytechnic High School North, sits at the 88th percentile, 4 stars, with SAT math of 47.62% against a state figure of 25.6% and a 90.0% graduation rate — but chronic absenteeism of 35.1%, more than double the state's 16.7%.
The bottom of the range is far lower. Thomas Carr Howe Middle School ranks in the 7th percentile with 0 stars and 8.15% math proficiency, while ACE Preparatory Academy and Skiles Test Elementary School both sit near the 24th percentile. Because Indianapolis Public Schools ranks 316th of 374 districts overall, district-level ratings badly understate Sidener and Bingham and overstate nothing about Howe. Poverty levels and spending do not reliably predict results here: Sidener spends the most per student at $20,159, but Purdue spends the least reported amount at $12,103 and still produces strong SAT and graduation outcomes, while Howe and ACE have low student-teacher ratios yet low performance. Families should compare individual schools, not district or ZIP averages.
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