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How has Barker Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
390
Middle
DISTRICT 357 · STATE 594
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MICHIGAN CITY AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 180657001140
Barker Middle School
319 E Barker Rd, Michigan City, IN 46360 · (219) 873-2057 · LaPorte County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL390 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 21% of Indiana public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Indiana public middle schools
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.3:1 · STATE 15.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
69%
270 students
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 50%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 9 | 2% |
| Grade 7 | 203 | 52% |
| Grade 8 | 178 | 46% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 57% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Barker Middle School→Michigan City High School
Based on grade levels within Michigan City Area Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
26.8%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
15.4%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 27 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Indiana schools, those numbers are about 39 and 41.
Source: ILEARN. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
21.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.6%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 21% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for Indiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Indiana's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Barker Middle School
Barker Middle School's state test result (21.0% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barker Middle School this school | 390 | 69.2% | 21.0% |
| Washington Middle School Evansville | 331 | 68.0% | 17.6% |
| McGary Middle School Evansville | 295 | 73.2% | 9.1% |
| John L McCulloch Junior High Sch Marion | 455 | 73.0% | 16.2% |
| Thomas Carr Howe Middle School - an IB World School Indianapolis | 455 | 70.8% | N/A |
| Anderson Intermediate School Anderson | 490 | 67.1% | 16.1% |
Matched among Indiana middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Barker Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 21.0% | #270 of 324 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.4% | #277 of 325 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 26.8% | #256 of 325 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 390 | #229 of 334 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.6:1 | #23 of 314 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.1% | #30 of 315 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.2% | #35 of 330 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.9% | #149 of 187 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
390
-28 (-7%) vs 2020
-40% since 1990-91, when it was 649
Student : Teacher
11.6:1
was 10.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 390 | 33.5 | 11.6:1 | 69% (270) |
| 2023-24 | 378 | 32 | 11.8:1 | 66% (249) |
| 2022-23 | 430 | 32.6 | 13.2:1 | 79% (340) |
| 2020-21 | 418 | 40 | 10.4:1 | 75% (312) |
| 2017-18 | 410 | 32 | 12.8:1 | 70% (289) |
| 2015-16 | 416 | 30 | 13.9:1 | 67% (279) |
| 2010-11 | 426 | 26 | 16.4:1 | 62% (263) |
| 2000-01 | 508 | 38 | 13.4:1 | 43% (219) |
| 1990-91 | 649 | 39 | 16.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Barker Middle School.
About Barker Middle School
In Michigan City, Indiana, part of LaPorte County, Barker Middle School is a middle-grades school. The school serves grades 7 through 8. Enrollment is 390 students. Middle schools in Indiana have about 594 students on average; enrollment here is 34% lower.
Barker Middle School is among 13 schools run by Michigan City Area Schools, which serves 5,030 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Barker Middle School is White, with 41% of students. Next come 34% Black, 14% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. The county population is about 78% White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Barker Middle School scores 69%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 11.6:1. The school has 33.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 15.6:1 average for middle schools in Indiana is 4.0 students per teacher. In all, 69% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 50% average for public schools in LaPorte County, the school's rate is higher.
Among Indiana public middle schools, Barker Middle School outscored 21%, which works out to a C- on the allk12 Grade.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Barker Middle School is -5.5 points: 21.0% actual, 26.6% predicted.
The school's county is LaPorte County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $71,055 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 23%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. LaPorte County's 38 public schools enroll about 15,515 students and include Barker Middle School.
Edgewood Elementary School is about 0.4 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Within five miles of Barker Middle School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Barker Middle School places 6th out of 6 schools in its immediate area.
The school's federal locale classification is City: Small.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Barker Middle School had a net loss of 28 students, or 7%. Its ratio of students to teachers was 10.4:1 in 2020-21, and 11.6:1 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Barker Middle School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
LaPorte County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
111,917
Census ACS
Median income
$71,055
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
15,515 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Michigan City Area Schools
- Michigan City High SchoolHigh · 1,506 students
- Joy Elementary SchoolElementary · 416 students
- Knapp Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Pine Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
- Edgewood Elementary SchoolElementary · 350 students
- Lake Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 345 students
Other schools in Michigan City
- Michigan City High SchoolHigh · 1,506 students
- Joy Elementary SchoolElementary · 416 students
- Knapp Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Pine Elementary SchoolElementary · 396 students
- Edgewood Elementary SchoolElementary · 350 students
- Lake Hills Elementary SchoolElementary · 345 students
Nearby schools
- Edgewood Elementary School0.4 mi · 350
- Little Wolves Early Learning Center0.5 mi · 38
- Joy Elementary School0.9 mi · 416
- Knapp Elementary School1.3 mi · 407
- Michigan City High School1.3 mi · 1,506
- Marsh Elementary School1.5 mi · 296
Frequently asked questions
About Barker Middle SchoolHow many students attend Barker Middle School?
Barker Middle School enrolls approximately 390 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Barker Middle School serve?
Barker Middle School serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Barker Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Barker Middle School is approximately 11.6:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Barker Middle School?
At Barker Middle School, the student body is approximately 41% White, 14% Hispanic, 34% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Barker Middle School public or private?
Barker Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Michigan City Area Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.