Wallace Elementary School, Kokomo IN

Original Research by School Decision on Wallace Elementary School

Wallace Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Kokomo, Indiana, as a regular public school within the Kokomo School Corporation. The school occupies a spot on West Jefferson Street in a residential area of this mid-sized industrial city, where manufacturing—anchored by a major automotive employer—alongside healthcare and retail form the economic base. The city’s population has been relatively stable, and its housing market is comparatively affordable by state and national measures, consistent with a mix of working-class and middle-class households.

Academically, Wallace Elementary tests students in grades three through five on Indiana’s ILEARN assessment. On the most recent results, the school’s proficiency rates in math and English language arts were both below the halfway mark, with a similar pattern in science and social studies for the tested grades. When compared with other elementary schools in Howard County, Wallace’s overall proficiency across subjects sits above the midpoint among the county’s districts, meaning it performs better than several peers in the local area while still having room to grow toward the top of the county range.

The student body is large for an elementary school—about that size for its grade band—and is diverse in composition. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-class character of the surrounding neighborhoods. Racially, the school is majority white, with notable representation of students who identify as two or more races, a smaller Black population, and a modest Hispanic enrollment. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the data available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports in place.

The school sits within a district that has no recent parent-relevant changes publicly reported, such as bond referendums, boundary shifts, or major curriculum overhauls. This may simply mean the district has been stable in its offerings and operations. Because Wallace is an elementary school, it does not have a graduation rate or advanced course offerings like those found in high schools. No data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, or staffing was available, so a parent considering the school could request that information from the school office.

Kokomo itself is an auto-oriented city with a traditional downtown government and cultural center. The school’s immediate neighborhood is residential, and the city’s trail network and parks provide recreational options. For a family looking at this school, the key academic picture is that of an elementary performing near the middle of its county on state tests, in a district that has been quiet on changes and in a community that offers modest housing costs relative to much of the country. The school is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported, so it is not designated as a schoolwide high-poverty support school under that program, though the free-lunch share suggests economic diversity. A family would want to explore student support services, extracurricular programming, and the school’s approach to the younger grades to see if the environment matches their expectations for early learning.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-849%

School 49% · District 25% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grades 3-844%

School 44% · District 28% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-846%

School 46% · District 28% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 22% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

This schoolKokomo School Corporation, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income38%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income64%39 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income54%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income73%Higher-income77%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income48%Higher-income53%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income68%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income56%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income73%Higher-income85%12 pp gap