Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 47243

ZIP code 47243 is home to a single middle school — Southwestern Middle School — which serves grades 6–8 with 280 students as part of the Southwestern-Jefferson County Con district in Hanover, Indiana. Because it is the only middle school in the area, there is no local peer school to compare against; the most useful benchmarks are the district and the state. The school enrolls a majority economically disadvantaged population, with 60% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, a 13:1 student-teacher ratio, and per-student spending of $9,715.

There are genuine bright spots. Chronic absenteeism is 11.5%, which is 5.2 percentage points below the state rate of 16.7%, though slightly above the district's 10.7%. Math proficiency climbed from 21.56% to 26.72% and Science from 34.62% to 38.89% year over year — gains made while district rates dipped slightly. Science at 38.89% is essentially level with the district's 38.71%. The school's ranking percentile also improved from 32 to 41 across three years. Seventh grade math is the closest the school comes to state performance, at 34.72% versus 35.9% statewide, a gap of just 1.18 percentage points.

The challenges are concentrated in English Language Arts and 8th grade. ELA slipped from 33.7% to 31.71%, widening the gap to the district to 6.03 points, and performance declines steadily by grade: 36.99% in 6th, 33.33% in 7th, and 26.73% in 8th. Eighth grade is the sharpest weak point, with math at 15.84% proficient against 34.2% statewide and ELA at 26.73% against 44%. Overall math, at 26.72%, still trails the district's 36.6%. The school remains rated 2 stars at the 41st percentile, mirroring the district's own standing — real momentum, but below-average overall results and clear room to grow.