Summary:
ZIP code 47438 in Jasonville, Indiana is served by a single district, MSD Shakamak Schools, which operates two schools for a combined 679 students: Shakamak Elementary School (PK–6, 384 students) and Shakamak Junior-Senior High School (grades 7–12, 295 students). Because the elementary feeds directly into the junior-senior high, this is effectively one K–12 pipeline split across two buildings — and the two buildings look almost nothing alike.
The elementary is the district's relative strength. Its math proficiency of 41.71% is far above the district's 30.77%, and its chronic absenteeism of 6.2% is less than half the state rate of 16.7%. Fifth-grade math (45.95%) is the only grade-and-subject combination at either school to beat its state benchmark. The junior-senior high stands out in different ways: a 94.1% graduation rate versus 89.7% statewide, and Biology end-of-course results well above state. But its math proficiency is 10.1% — roughly a quarter of the elementary's — and only 9.8% of students meet the SAT math benchmark against 25.4% statewide. Its chronic absenteeism (12.2%) is double the elementary's, though still below state.
The biggest question this data raises is the 6th-to-7th-grade math transition: elementary 6th-grade math sits at 37.5%, just 2.7 points below state, while 7th-grade math in the same district falls to 9.62%. Notably, the high school spends about 11% more per student and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (10.9 vs. 15.3), yet posts far lower math outcomes — so resources and class size alone don't explain the gap. Parents may want to ask how math instruction and curriculum are aligned across that transition, and what the district is doing to close it.
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