Summary:
ZIP code 47714 in Evansville has two middle schools — Washington Middle School and McGary Middle School — both serving grades 6–8 in the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp and together enrolling 626 students.
Both schools sit in the bottom tier of Indiana middle schools, and both are below their own district's average in every subject — even though the district itself ranks only in the 31st percentile statewide. Washington Middle School is the stronger of the two on every achievement measure, ranking 427 of 486 schools (12th percentile, 1 star) in 2025-2026, with 19.02% proficiency in English language arts, 9.54% in math, and 17.54% in science. McGary Middle School ranks 476 of 486 (2nd percentile) and is the only school here rated 0 stars — in each of the last two years — with 8.14% in ELA, 4.18% in math, and just 2.11% in science, the lowest figure in the data set. McGary's 8th-grade ELA proficiency of 3.7% is 40.3 points below the state's 44%.
Notably, the extra resources sit with the lower-performing school: McGary Middle School spends $1,152 more per student and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (9.8 vs. 12.3), which likely reflects higher service needs rather than an instructional edge. Both schools have free/reduced lunch rates near 68–73%, and both exceed district (21.5%) and state (16.7%) chronic absenteeism — Washington's rate is actually higher (24.9% vs. 22.3%) yet it still outperforms. Both schools have declined for three straight years, with McGary Middle School falling furthest. Washington's pressure points are 7th/8th-grade math and science; McGary needs help in every subject and grade.
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