Best High Schools in Zip Code 46545

ZIP code 46545 in Mishawaka, Indiana is served by exactly one public high school: Penn High School, a large school for grades 9–12 with 3,687 students, part of the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. Because it is the only high school in this ZIP code, there are no local peers to compare it against, so the most useful comparison is between Penn High and Indiana averages.

Penn High stands out on nearly every measure. It ranked 15th of 415 Indiana high schools in 2025–2026, placing it in the 96th percentile, and it earned 5 stars in each of the last three years (previously 25th of 429 and 23rd of 432). Its graduation rate is 97.5%, matching its district and 7.8 percentage points above the state's 89.7%. Chronic absenteeism is 8.0%, slightly better than the district's 8.4% and less than half the state's 16.7%, which suggests students are engaged and showing up. The district itself ranks 34th of 374 districts statewide, so the school sits within a strong system, but its own high-school ranking is even more selective.

Academically, reading and writing are the biggest strength: 71.69% of students were proficient in SAT Evidence-based Reading and Writing in 2025–2026, versus 51.9% statewide. SAT Math proficiency was 43.5% against the state's 25.6% — still well above average, though the school's reading–math gap of 28.2 points is slightly wider than the state's 26.3 points. Biology ILEARN End-of-Course proficiency rose from 61.49% to 71.44% year over year (the 2025–2026 state figure was not provided); SAT reading slipped only 0.35 points while the state fell 2.6 points, and math was essentially flat. For context, 31.14% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, spending is $9,872 per student, and the student-teacher ratio is 19.5:1; no state or district benchmarks were provided for these. Note that data years vary across metrics.