North Putnam Middle School, Roachdale IN

Original Research by School Decision on North Putnam Middle School

North Putnam Middle School serves grades six through eight in Roachdale, a small, rural town in northern Putnam County. The town has a compact, walkable downtown with a Carnegie Library, a community center, and a handful of local businesses. Roachdale’s population declined notably from an earlier peak but has since edged back up slightly, and local grassroots groups are pursuing state grants for sidewalk improvements, facade restoration, and downtown beautification. The middle school itself sits near the town’s core, not on an isolated campus, and the broader North Putnam Community Schools district did not publicly report any recent major changes in its operations or programming.

The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share identifying as two or more races and a very small Hispanic population. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school enrolls roughly the same number of students across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, giving it a class size that is manageable but leaves limited room for elective depth by middle school standards. State testing data, which is available for this grade band, shows reading proficiency rates that are higher than the math or science rates. A parent looking at the numbers will see that a solid portion of students meet the state’s expectations in English language arts, while performance in math and science is lower overall, and a family may want to discuss with the school how it addresses those subject areas. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects sits in the top quartile among districts in Putnam County, indicating that relative to its immediate neighbors it is performing on the stronger side.

No civil rights data, chronic absenteeism figures, or program offerings such as advanced coursework or career pathways were reported for this school, which is common for a middle school that does not serve high school grades and therefore typically does not offer AP or dual-credit options. Because the school serves only sixth through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. This is also a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not listed.

For a family considering this school, the context is that of a small, rural community with modest growth efforts and a school that delivers reading results above its own math and science outcomes, and that on balance performs ahead of the county district average. The social environment is shaped by a tight-knit town where community events like a summer farmer’s market and concert series are part of local life. The school’s strengths in literacy are clear, but parents curious about STEM preparation or elective breadth may want to ask about course options directly. The available data does not indicate whether any recent districtwide shifts in curriculum or staffing have occurred, so a family moving into the area may want to speak with the principal or attend a school board meeting to get a fuller picture of where the middle school is headed.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grades 3-830%

School 30% · District 41% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grades 3-838%

School 38% · District 45% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Social studies

Grades 3-858%

School 58% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolNorth Putnam Community Schools, 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 6Lower-income17%Higher-income55%38 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income45%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income35%Higher-income53%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income45%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income39%16 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income30%9 pp gap