Summary:
The 40175 area has two schools in Hardin County, serving grades 1–8: Vine Grove Elementary School serves grades 1–5 and has 493 students, while James T Alton Middle School serves grades 6–8 and has 612. Both schools have lower chronic absenteeism than the district and state: 12% at Vine Grove and 13% at Alton, versus 19% in Hardin County and 24% statewide. The clearest overall finding is that Vine Grove exceeded state results in all ten reported 2025–2026 tests, while Alton was below the state in most.
Vine Grove is the standout for current test results: its average across the ten reported results was 54%, compared with 44% for the matching state results, a 10-point lead. Its largest advantages were fifth-grade Editing and Mechanics, 66% versus 48% (+18 points), and Social Studies, 53% versus 38% (+15). Alton averaged 36% against 42% for the state, 6 points lower. Its largest gaps were seventh-grade Mathematics and eighth-grade Editing and Mechanics, each 9 points below state results. Seventh-grade Science was a small exception: Alton scored 29%, 1 point above the state.
The schools’ overall trends differ: Alton’s average test result rose from 35% to 36% between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, and its average gap to the state improved by 3 points; Vine Grove’s average fell from 59% to 54%, and its state-relative lead narrowed by 6 points. Alton also made notable eighth-grade gains: Writing rose from 24% to 43%, narrowing its gap from 25 points below state to 5 below, while Social Studies improved from 10 points below state to 1 below. SchoolDigger rates Vine Grove 4 stars, at the 75th percentile, and Alton 2 stars, at the 30th percentile, in 2025–2026. For context, their 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 52% at Vine Grove and 53% at Alton; student-teacher ratios were 15.4 and 16.3, respectively. These results cover different grade spans, so the schools’ raw scores are not direct, like-for-like comparisons.
Thank you for your feedback!