Summary:
ZIP code 47001 in Aurora, Indiana, has exactly one middle school: South Dearborn Middle School, which serves 288 students in grades 6–8 as part of South Dearborn Community School Corp. Because it is the only middle school in the ZIP, there are no local middle-school peers to compare it with; the most useful benchmarks are its district and the state.
Academically, Biology End-of-Course is a clear bright spot. In 2024–25, South Dearborn Middle School reported 100% proficient, compared with 42.03% for the district and 45.6% for the state; in 2025–26, Biology EOC was 68.97%, still above the district’s 50.97%. Chronic absenteeism is also a relative strength at 13.4% in 2024–25, below the district’s 14.1% and the state’s 16.7%. Math is the biggest concern: All Grades Math proficiency was 21.85% in 2025–26 and 21.8% in 2024–25, and Grade 8 Math was especially low at 15.83% versus the state’s 34.2%. ELA is mixed: Grade 7 ELA was 38.71% versus the state’s 41.7%, but Grade 6 ELA was 21.43% versus 41.3%, and Grade 8 ELA was 33.09% versus 44%. All Grades ELA slipped from 34.6% in 2024–25 to 31.11% in 2025–26.
The school’s ranking has declined from 246 of 491 in 2023–24 (50th percentile, 3 stars) to 303 of 480 in 2024–25 (37th percentile, 2 stars) and 321 of 486 in 2025–26 (34th percentile, 2 stars), while the district ranks 154 of 374 (59th percentile, 3 stars). About 47.22% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and the school spends $12,872 per student with a 12.8 student-teacher ratio; the record does not provide district or state comparisons for those context metrics. Overall, South Dearborn Middle School shows strengths in Biology EOC and chronic absenteeism, but core ILEARN results in Math and some ELA grades lag behind state benchmarks, and its two-year ranking trend is downward.
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