The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Science. The lowest is 50% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Knightstown Elementary School
Knightstown Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through third grade within the C A Beard Memorial School Corporation. As an early-elementary building, it does not have a graduation rate, and its state testing results come only from the third grade—the first year Indiana administers the ILEARN assessment. On that measure, a majority of third graders met or exceeded the state’s proficiency standard in math, and about half did so in English language arts. Compared with other school districts in Henry County, Knightstown Elementary’s combined proficiency across tested subjects placed it well above the typical district in the county, a position that signals solid early academic footing for a building of this grade band.
The student body is predominantly white, and a substantial share of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school enrolls a modest number of children, consistent with its role as a neighborhood elementary in a small town. No data was available on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports available.
Knightstown itself is a small historic rural community set about half an hour east of Indianapolis along U.S. Highway 40, nestled between the Big Blue River and Montgomery Creek. Its downtown, designated a historic district, retains 19th-century architecture and centers on a town square that hosts community events such as a summer music series and an annual car show. The town is compact, with schools, the public library, and civic buildings located within the community rather than on isolated campuses—a pattern that can reinforce a sense of place for young families. The area is affordable relative to state and national housing benchmarks; home values in the surrounding ZIP code have seen modest appreciation over the past year. Knightstown’s population has experienced a slight decline since the prior census, but town leaders have a comprehensive development plan and describe themselves as actively pursuing projects and growth.
The district itself showed no recent major changes such as referenda, bond issues, or curriculum overhauls in publicly available information, suggesting a period of relative stability. At the elementary level, the school’s strongest evidence of performance lies in its early math outcomes. The English language arts proficiency, while not weak, is lower than math—a pattern many parents in elementary grades monitor, as early literacy skills are foundational. Science data was available only from a much earlier year under a different state test, so it is not meaningfully comparable and should not be used to draw conclusions about current instruction.
For a family looking at Knightstown, this school offers a small, community-embedded early elementary experience in a town with affordable housing and a slow-growth context. The academic picture is strongest in math, and the overall proficiency index ranks favorably within Henry County. Parents who want a clearer view of special education or English learner services, or who are interested in how the school supports literacy in the primary grades, have a natural reason to visit and ask those questions directly.
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