Summary:
Zip code 40212 has six elementary, middle and combined grades 6–12 schools. All reported a free/reduced lunch eligible measure for 2024–25, ranging from 59% to 92%. In 2025–26, pooled reported scores were well below matched state results in several subjects: reading averaged 25% versus 50% statewide, social studies 15% versus 38%, and editing and mechanics 23% versus 45%. The most important area-wide finding is that reported proficiency is substantially below state results, especially in reading and social studies.
Western Middle School for the Arts and Portland Elementary are the clearest bright spots. Western was above the state in grade 7 and 8 reading by 3 and 2 points, respectively, and in grade 8 writing, social studies, and editing and mechanics by 4, 5, and 9 points. Portland led the elementaries in all three reported reading grades (28%, 30%, and 37%) and scored 37% in grade 5 writing, 2 points above the state. At the lower end, Dr. J. Blaine Hudson Middle School had grade 6 and 8 reading scores of 10% and 5%; The Academy @ Shawnee scored 13% and 17% in grades 6 and 7. Byck Elementary was the weakest elementary in grade 5 reading, writing, and social studies, scoring 13%, 5%, and 5%. Portland’s average reading score across grades 3–5 was 18 points higher than Byck’s.
Recent changes differ by school: across matched results, Western averaged a 4-point decline, while Portland rose 7 points and Atkinson Academy rose 5; across all 33 comparisons, scores increased by an average of 2 points. SchoolDigger ranked Western in the 42nd percentile and Hudson in the 0th among middle schools; among elementaries, Portland was in the 13th percentile, Atkinson in the 2nd, and Byck in the 0th. Attendance is another notable difference: chronic absenteeism was 27% at Portland, 58% at Hudson, and 64% at Shawnee, compared with 24% statewide. Ratios and income measures provide context, not explanations for school results.
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