Summary:
ZIP code 47448 in Nashville, Indiana, is served by exactly one elementary school — Van Buren Elementary School, a PK–5 school with 210 students in the Brown County School Corporation — so families here have a single local public elementary option rather than several schools to compare. The area is rural Brown County, where 43.33% of the school's students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The school spends $12,502 per student and has a student-teacher ratio of 12.9, a comparatively favorable staffing level.
Academically, the picture is mixed. Math is a relative strength: all-grades proficiency is 45.88% versus the district's 41.67%, with 5th-grade math at 46.43% — above both the district's 42.24% and the state's 42%. Science is the standout: all-grades proficiency is 52.63% versus the district's 48.22%, a gain of 28.63 percentage points from 24% the previous year, which moved the school from below the district to above it. English language arts is the clearest weakness: all-grades ELA is 31.76%, 16.35 points below the district's 48.11%, and 5th-grade ELA is just 25% against district 54.31% and state 42.2%. Third-grade math (42.11%) also trails the district's 56.64% and the state's 51.9%, and 5th-grade social studies slipped to 42.86%, below both district and state.
The school's overall standing has fallen. In 2025–2026 it ranked 548 of 1,015 schools — 46th percentile with 2 stars — down from 399 of 1,011 (61st percentile, 3 stars) in 2023–2024, while the district ranks 133 of 374 districts at the 64th percentile with 3 stars. Chronic absenteeism is 21.3%, above the district's 19.8% and the state's 16.7%, meaning roughly one in five students misses enough school to be chronically absent. In short, Van Buren shows real momentum in science and solid math results, but ELA, social studies, absenteeism, and a declining rank are the areas to watch.
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