The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Social studies. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Decatur Middle School
Decatur Middle School sits within Indianapolis’s Decatur Township, serving seventh and eighth graders as a traditional public school in the Metropolitan School District of Decatur Township. The school is about as large as a middle school in this part of Marion County gets, with a sizable student body that tilts heavily White but includes substantial Black and Hispanic populations. More than four out of five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that signals a high-need community and one that families should weigh when considering peer environment and resource demands.
On state assessments, Decatur Middle School posts numbers that are mixed. In both math and English/language arts, the share of students reaching proficiency falls well below what many parents would consider strong. Math proficiency is particularly low. English/language arts, while better than math, still leaves more than three-quarters of students below the proficient bar. When compared with other schools across Marion County, Decatur Middle School’s overall proficiency index actually places in the top quartile among districts in the county. That framing matters: the county includes many schools that are performing very low, so a top-quartile ranking here does not mean the school is achieving strong results in absolute terms. It means that relative to a very mixed field, Decatur Middle School is on the higher end. A parent should look closely at these test outcomes and inquire about how the school supports students who are below grade level.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available. The district brief offers context that directly affects what happens inside this building. In late 2022, a district referendum intended to fund educational programs, teacher retention, and facility improvements failed to pass. Soon after, the expiration of federal pandemic relief funds compounded the budget pressure. The district made staffing cuts and program adjustments for the following school year. These are not abstract boardroom decisions; they can mean larger class sizes, fewer electives, and reduced support staff. A family considering this school should ask the principal or district office what specific programs were cut or preserved and what class sizes look like now.
The housing market in this part of Indianapolis offers something notable. Home values in the school’s ZIP code are below the Indiana state median and well below the national median, making Decatur Township one of the more affordable entry points into the Indianapolis metro area for homebuyers. Rents also come in under the national benchmark. For a family that needs to balance school quality with housing costs, that tradeoff is real. The school’s proficiency numbers suggest that affordability comes with academic challenges that may require active parent involvement and supplemental support.
The district maintains two property tax levies, an Operations Levy and a Safety Levy, that fund basic operations and school safety personnel. These are standard for Indiana districts but represent an ongoing cost for homeowners. On the fiscal side, the district is working within tighter constraints than it had a few years ago.
Decatur Middle School is best understood as a school that serves a high-poverty community in a district that is navigating real budget constraints. Its test scores are low in absolute terms, though they sit higher than many peers in a county with widespread low performance. For a family that values an affordable housing market and wants to be part of a school community where involvement could make a tangible difference, this school fits that description. A parent should want to know how the district’s budget cuts have affected this specific building and what academic intervention programs are in place before enrolling.
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