The top reported proficiency rate is 76% in Math. The lowest is 50% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on North Salem Elementary School
North Salem Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small rural town of North Salem, Indiana, located roughly twenty-five miles west of Indianapolis. The school is part of the North West Hendricks Schools district, which also includes Tri-West Hendricks High School, meaning older students travel out of town for secondary school. The town itself is tiny, with a traditional main street, a handful of shops, and a locally famous pizzeria, set amid low farmland to the east and wooded ravines to the west near the Eel River and Big Walnut Creek. Owner-occupied single-family homes dominate the housing stock, and the community’s growth has been very slow and modest. The median home value in the area sits above the state benchmark for Indiana. A community organization, North Salem Revitalization, Inc., actively funds local improvements and has supported the school’s PTO and Robotics Club.
The student body is small and predominantly white, with a modest share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves the youngest learners in the district, so there is no graduation rate to report. State testing data from Indiana’s ILEARN assessments, across all tested elementary grades, shows that the school performs well relative to other schools in Hendricks County. On a combined proficiency index that averages results across subjects and grades, North Salem Elementary lands in the top quartile among the county’s districts, with the highest proficiency index in that countywide comparison. In math, a substantial majority of students score at or above the state’s proficiency benchmark. In English language arts, roughly two-thirds of students meet that same bar. Science proficiency, tested in a single grade, comes in at a rate where half of students reach the standard; social studies, also tested in one grade, shows a majority achieving proficiency.
A parent or guardian considering this school will find a setting where academic results are solidly above the county median, particularly in math, with a notably high proficiency index for the area. The school’s small enrollment and rural character mean class sizes are modest, and opportunities to participate in extracurriculars like the Robotics Club are accessible. The lack of public transit and the distance to larger towns such as Danville for most services and shopping is a practical consideration. The district passed a referendum in a recent election to fund facility improvements including safety upgrades and classroom expansions, which points to a longer-term investment in the physical infrastructure. For a family looking for an elementary school in a quiet, slow-growing, owner-occupied community with above-average test scores for the county, North Salem Elementary fits that profile.
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