Summary:
ZIP code 47838 is served by two public schools — Carlisle Elementary School (PK–5, 188 students) and Carlisle Middle School (6–8, 80 students) — both part of Southwest School Corporation, serving 268 students combined with no high school inside the ZIP.
For parents comparing the two, the differences are mostly in subject strength. The elementary's standout is attendance: chronic absenteeism was 9.5%, below the district's 12.5% and well below the state's 16.7%. Its math results (36% all grades) also beat the district's 29.69%, and 5th grade was a bright spot, exceeding the district in ELA, math, and social studies. However, all-grades ELA (26.67%) came in slightly under the district, with 3rd and 4th grade ELA (20% and 17.86%) far below state levels. At the middle school the pattern flips — ELA is the strength at 40% all grades, above the district's 29.17%, while math is the clearest concern at 23.53%, below the district's 29.69%, with 7th and 8th grade math at 19.05% and 20%. The middle school's chronic absenteeism (14.8%) is above the district's 12.5% but still below the state's 16.7%.
Both schools serve high-need populations, with free/reduced lunch at 67.55% and 65%, and they receive similar resources: per-student spending of $12,520 and $11,828 and student-teacher ratios of 11.3 and 11.2, so funding and staffing do not explain the outcome differences. Both are currently rated 2 stars, and both have slipped in rank percentile recently — the elementary from the 44th to the 33rd percentile, and the middle school from the 58th to the 46th, after reaching 3 stars in 2023–24. Given the middle school's small enrollment, results such as its Biology End-of-Course score (72.73% in 2024–25, dropping to 50% in 2025–26) can shift significantly from year to year.
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