Tri-west Middle School, Lizton IN

Original Research by School Decision on Tri-west Middle School

Tri-West Middle School serves grades six through eight in the town of Lizton, a very small rural community in Hendricks County, Indiana, about 25 miles northwest of Indianapolis. It is a regular public school within the North West Hendricks Schools district. The school is modest in size for a middle school, and students who attend come from a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting a mix of economic backgrounds.

On the state’s ILEARN assessments, roughly half of students scored proficient or above in math, while about three-fifths did so in English language arts, and roughly two-thirds in science. A social studies measure from several years ago showed stronger results, but that test used a different assessment and is not current. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades placed this school in the top quartile relative to districts in Hendricks County, meaning its academic performance stands among the stronger group in the county. Participation rates on the tests were high. There was no chronic absenteeism data available, and no graduation rate applies here since the school does not serve high school grades.

Lizton itself is a compact town with very slow population growth, a limited commercial core, and a residential character. The town has a volunteer fire department and a municipal building, but no public transit or library was referenced in available information. Walkability and street life are minimal, as is typical for a town of this size. The school is part of a regional district that also serves the nearby towns of Pittsboro and North Salem; the campus location relative to Lizton’s downtown is not specified in publicly available records, but the district’s name suggests a broader, county-area approach rather than a single town-centered one.

The district passed a referendum in the 2024 election to fund facility improvements across the schools, including safety upgrades, classroom expansions, and infrastructure modernization. This represents a lasting investment in the district’s physical plant. No other major recent changes were identified in available public information.

For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. Academically, Tri-West Middle School performs solidly by county standards, with a clear majority of students meeting proficiency in reading and science, though math proficiency is a softer area that a parent may want to look into further with the school. The setting is rural and small-town, and the student population is not highly diverse. The housing market in Lizton, based on available data, shows home values that are somewhat above the statewide median, and the area has limited commercial activity, so any new resident should expect to commute for many services. The district’s recent referendum signals that the schools are investing in their facilities for the long term. There is no information about specific programs offered at the middle school, such as advanced coursework or electives, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about those offerings.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grades 3-852%

School 52% · District 65% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-861%

School 61% · District 66% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-867%

School 67% · District 61% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grades 3-881%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median

This schoolNorth West Hendricks 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-income54%Higher-income65%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income49%Higher-income67%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income45%Higher-income62%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income54%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income59%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income58%34 pp gap