The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Math. The lowest is 2% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Marsh Elementary School
Marsh Elementary School is a regular public school in Michigan City serving kindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of the Michigan City Area Schools district. The student body is diverse: just over a third of students are white, a similar share are Black, roughly a sixth are multiracial, and a tenth are Hispanic. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-need economic context. The school is a regular elementary school with no charter or magnet designation, and enrollment data for students with disabilities or English learners was not available in the source material.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Marsh Elementary’s proficiency rates came in below the midpoint for the LaPorte County school district cohort. Across tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index ranked in the bottom quartile among the seven LaPorte County districts. For the specific subjects tested, a little under two out of every five students scored proficient or above in math, and roughly three out of ten did so in English language arts. Science proficiency was lower, with about a fifth of tested students reaching that bar. Social studies, tested only at fifth grade, showed a very low proficiency rate. The school did achieve full participation in the math and English language arts assessments, which means all enrolled students in tested grades took the tests. A parent looking at these numbers will want to understand what academic support and intervention programs the school offers, and to talk with the school about its plans for raising achievement.
Michigan City itself provides the broader community context. The city sits on Lake Michigan, about a 45-minute drive from Chicago via the South Shore Line passenger rail, which has two downtown stations. The local economy has an unusual mix for a city of its size: a riverboat casino complex that is the state’s largest, a regional hospital, a state prison, and an outlet mall drive employment and tourism. The city’s north end, which contains its oldest neighborhoods, has been the focus of revitalization efforts for roughly two decades, including plans to expand park land along the lake and Trail Creek. Public transit runs four bus routes that all begin at the public library, and bus service has been free since late 2025. The housing market is relatively affordable; home values and rents in the surrounding area are below state and national benchmarks, which can be a relevant factor for families considering a move to the district.
The school district itself operates one high school, two middle schools, and eight elementary schools spread across the city. We looked for recent district-level changes such as referendums, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls but found little of substance to report from public sources. That leaves families to focus on what is directly observable at Marsh Elementary itself: a school with a diverse, economically challenged student body, fully administered state testing, and proficiency results that the district’s own comparison group shows are below those of most neighboring districts. For a parent weighing this school, the next step would be to visit, ask about the specific academic interventions in place, and understand how the school’s resources and staffing match its students’ needs.
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