Summary:
ZIP code 47167 has just one middle school: Salem Middle School, which serves grades 6–8 as part of Salem Community Schools in Salem, Indiana. It enrolls 352 students, with a student-teacher ratio of 10.8:1 and per-student spending of $11,699, and about half of students (50.85%) qualify for free or reduced lunch. Because it is the only middle school in the ZIP, there is no in-area peer for comparison, so the useful benchmarks are the district and the state.
The most important thing for parents to know is that this school is improving quickly. It rose from 2 stars to 3 stars, moving from 317th out of 480 schools (34th percentile) in 2024–2025 to 192nd out of 486 (60th percentile) in 2025–2026 — a 125-position and 26-percentile-point jump. Proficiency rose in every tested subject from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: ELA went from 30.57% to 41.29% (+10.72 points), Math from 24.29% to 35.04% (+10.75 points), and Science from 32.48% to 37.88% (+5.40 points). In 2025–2026 the school beat its district in ELA by 4.63 points and in Science by 2.45 points, but trailed the district in Math by 4.61 points.
Looking at grade levels helps explain that Math gap. In 2025–2026, 6th grade Math (43.28% vs. 40.2% statewide) and 8th grade ELA (44.72% vs. 44% statewide) were relative strengths, while 8th grade Math was the clear weak spot at 28.1% proficient versus 34.2% statewide, with 7th grade Math and 6th grade Science also below state averages. Chronic absenteeism, at 16.8%, is essentially identical to the district (16.9%) and state (16.7%) rates. Overall, families are looking at a school on a strong upward trajectory academically, with middle-school Math — especially in 7th and 8th grades — as the main area to watch.
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