The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Science. The lowest is 33% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mollie B Hoover Elementary School
Mollie B Hoover Elementary School in Crawfordsville, Indiana, serves fourth and fifth graders in the Crawfordsville Community Schools district. Because it covers only two grades, the usual set of K-12 markers that parents might look for—such as a graduation rate, college-going data, or a chronic absenteeism figure—do not apply here. The school is a regular public school. It is not a charter or magnet school, and data on its Title I status was not available.
The school building sits on Elm Street in Crawfordsville, the county seat of Montgomery County. Crawfordsville has a compact downtown anchored by the Montgomery County Courthouse and a Commercial Historic District. Wabash College, a private liberal arts men’s college, is integrated near downtown, and Ivy Tech Community College also has a campus in the city. Major employers include Nucor Steel, Lakeside Book Company, and Pace Dairy Foods, giving the town a mixed industrial and educational character. Amtrak’s Cardinal train stops in downtown, and the city provides public transportation. Housing in the area sits at a level well below the national median home value, and rents are substantially lower than the national norm, making the community comparatively affordable. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary rezonings or program closures, so this appears to be a stable setting on the district side.
Hoover’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary that serves only two grade levels. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals a community with significant economic need. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic share making up the largest minority group, and smaller shares of Black students and multiracial students. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported.
On the state’s ILEARN assessments, Hoover’s results are mixed and a parent will want to look into them further with the school. In math, roughly one in three students scored at the proficient level or above. In English language arts, about one in three students reached proficiency. Science scores were higher, with just under half of students proficient. Social studies, tested only at fifth grade, saw about one in three students proficient. Participation rates on the tests were high in math and English language arts, which supports the reliability of those results. The proficiency data for science and social studies had missing participation information, so it is harder to gauge how representative those scores are. When placed against the three school districts in Montgomery County, Hoover’s overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint of that small cohort. The county contains only three districts, so the comparison set is narrow; the numbers tell a local story more than a statewide one.
The school does not offer high school–level programs such as Advanced Placement, dual credit, or career and technical education pathways, because it serves only fourth and fifth grade. For families weighing Hoover, the academic picture is the central consideration: state test results are modest, particularly in math and reading, and the school sits on the lower end of the local district comparison. Families looking for a community with a distinct small-city character, a liberal arts college presence, and relatively affordable housing may find Crawfordsville appealing, but the school’s academic performance is a soft spot that merits direct conversation with the principal or a visit to see how instruction and support are structured for upper-elementary students.
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