Best High Schools in Zip Code 46320

ZIP code 46320 in Hammond, Indiana, contains two high schools: Hammond Central High School, a grades 9–12 school in School City of Hammond with 1,814 students, and Hammond Academy of Science & Technical, a grades 6–12 school with 578 students that is its own district.

On the available measures, Hammond Academy of Science & Technical is the clear standout. In 2025–26 it ranked 123rd of 415 schools with a 70th percentile and 4 stars, while Hammond Central High School ranked 385th of 415 with a 7th percentile and 0 stars. HAST’s 2024–25 graduation rate was 98.4%, compared with 80.4% at Central and 89.7% statewide. HAST’s chronic absenteeism was 20.1%, while Central’s was 35.8%, much higher than the state’s 16.7%. HAST also had stronger high-school-level tests: 59.38% proficient in Biology EOC and 52.17% in SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing, versus 10.1% and 23.99% at Central.

Both schools spend nearly the same per student—$10,821 at Central and $10,892 at HAST—but HAST serves a higher free/reduced-lunch share, 67.99% vs. 52.32%, and still has better graduation, attendance, and test outcomes. Math is a weak spot at both, but Central’s SAT Math proficiency is extreme at 2.02%, compared with 20.29% at HAST and about 25.6% statewide. HAST’s student-teacher ratio is 12.2, versus 21.1 at Central, about 42% lower. Because HAST serves grades 6–12, its ILEARN results reflect middle school grades, so SAT and Biology EOC are the clearest high-school comparisons. Overall, HAST is the standout, while Central is larger and faces greater challenges, especially in absenteeism and math.