Summary:
ZIP code 46342 is home to two public middle schools serving grades 6–8: Hobart Middle School, part of School City of Hobart, and River Forest Middle School, part of River Forest Community School Corp. Together they enroll 1,274 students — 905 at Hobart and 369 at River Forest — making Hobart about 2.45 times larger and roughly 71% of the middle-school enrollment in this area.
Hobart Middle School is the higher-performing option, ranked 174th of 486 Indiana middle schools (64th percentile, 3 stars), while its district ranks 112th of 374 (70th percentile, 4 stars). Its ELA proficiency is above the state at every middle grade: 45.09% in 6th, 45.99% in 7th, and 51.49% in 8th, versus state figures of 41.3%, 41.7%, and 44%. Chronic absenteeism is low at 11.1%, well below the state's 16.7%. Math is its weaker area, below the state in every middle grade, and 6th-grade science is 35.89% vs. the state's 41.2%. Its reported Biology End-of-Course proficiency of 81.71% is far above district and state figures; this likely reflects a specialized or advanced cohort, so it should be read with caution.
River Forest Middle School is smaller and rated 1 star, ranking 385th of 486 (21st percentile); its district ranks 325th of 374 (13th percentile). It trails the state in every reported grade and subject — notably 8th-grade math at 7.69% and 6th-grade science at 10.28% — and chronic absenteeism is 18.0%, above the state average, though better than its district's 23.3%. It has smaller classes (14.7 students per teacher vs. 18.2) and lower per-student spending ($9,950 vs. $12,110), and 73.98% of its students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch compared with 52.6% at Hobart — a notable contextual difference. Across all-grade results, Hobart leads River Forest in ELA by 21.17 points, math by 20.42 points, and science by 25.61 points.
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