1
Best kept secret at Forest Dale Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
638
Elementary
DISTRICT 638 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARMEL CLAY SCHOOLS·NCES 180120002101
Forest Dale Elementary School
10721 Lakeshore Dr W, Carmel, IN 46033 · (317) 844-4948 · Hamilton County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL638 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 84% of Indiana public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
48 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
115 students
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 50%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 26 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 88 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 106 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 112 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 99 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 101 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 106 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (88) is 17% smaller than its 5th grade class (106).
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
62.8%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
68.8%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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
68.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.8%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 Forest Dale Elementary School
Forest Dale Elementary School's state test result (68.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Dale Elementary School this school | 638 | 18.0% | 68.5% |
| Center Grove Elementary School Greenwood | 691 | 15.9% | 62.3% |
| Carey Ridge Elementary School Westfield | 612 | 20.9% | 65.0% |
| Horizon Elementary School Granger | 679 | 17.2% | 67.4% |
| Mohawk Trails Elementary School Carmel | 543 | 18.6% | 66.8% |
| Walnut Grove Elementary School Bargersville | 735 | 20.3% | 53.4% |
Matched among Indiana elementary 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 Forest Dale Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Hamilton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.5% | #61 of 983 | #16 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.8% | #135 of 986 | #24 of 39 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.8% | #86 of 986 | #20 of 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 638 | #131 of 1,079 | #16 of 40 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #205 of 991 | #3 of 39 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.2% | #512 of 996 | #28 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 18.0% | #1,011 of 1,058 | #23 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.8% | #497 of 597 | #21 of 23 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
638
-3 (0%) vs 2020
+25% since 1990-91, when it was 511
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 20.0:1
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 | 638 | 47.7 | 13.4:1 | 18% (115) |
| 2023-24 | 653 | 46.7 | 14.0:1 | 19% (124) |
| 2022-23 | 652 | 42.5 | 15.3:1 | 23% (147) |
| 2020-21 | 641 | 32 | 20.0:1 | 22% (140) |
| 2017-18 | 663 | 32.5 | 20.4:1 | 21% (137) |
| 2015-16 | 639 | 30 | 21.3:1 | 20% (125) |
| 2010-11 | 652 | 37 | 17.6:1 | 22% (143) |
| 2000-01 | 570 | 30 | 19.0:1 | 5% (26) |
| 1990-91 | 511 | 26 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Dale Elementary School.
About Forest Dale Elementary School
Forest Dale Elementary School serves students in Carmel, Indiana, as a mid-sized elementary school. The school has 638 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 5. By comparison, elementary schools in Indiana enroll about 436 students on average.
The Carmel Clay Schools system has 15 schools and 16,145 students.
More than half of enrollment at Forest Dale Elementary School is White: 75%. Enrollment also includes 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 6% Asian, and 4% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 42%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 13.4:1. The school has 47.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Indiana is 15.5:1. In all, 18% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The figure for public schools in Hamilton County is close, at 21%.
Forest Dale Elementary School earns an A- on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 84% of Indiana public elementary schools.
Forest Dale Elementary School posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 68.5%, compared with a predicted 62.8%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Indiana schools on BeatsExpectations.
In the surrounding county, Hamilton County, median household income comes to about $121,530, about 62% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 3%. The county's public schools total 69, with about 63,065 students.
Woodbrook Elementary School sits about 1.1 miles from Forest Dale Elementary School. Forest Dale Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. The school's 68.5% average proficiency ranks 1st among 6 nearby schools.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Mid-size.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (641) and 2024-25 (638). Federal data show the ratio falling from 20.0:1 to 13.4:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Hamilton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
365,056
Census ACS
Median income
$121,530
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
62%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
69
63,065 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Carmel Clay Schools
- Carmel High SchoolHigh · 5,239 students
- Creekside Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,428 students
- Clay Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,415 students
- Carmel Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,047 students
- Prairie Trace Elementary SchoolElementary · 715 students
- Cherry Tree Elementary SchoolElementary · 711 students
Other schools in Carmel
- Carmel High SchoolHigh · 5,239 students
- Creekside Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,428 students
- Clay Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,415 students
- Carmel Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,047 students
- Prairie Trace Elementary SchoolElementary · 715 students
- Cherry Tree Elementary SchoolElementary · 711 students
Nearby schools
- Woodbrook Elementary School1.1 mi · 628
- Indiana Agriculture and Technology1.3 mi · 441
- Mohawk Trails Elementary School2.0 mi · 543
- Carmel Elementary School2.2 mi · 700
- Nora Elementary School2.4 mi · 544
- Early Learning Center2.4 mi · 233
Frequently asked questions
About Forest Dale Elementary SchoolHow large is Forest Dale Elementary School?
Forest Dale Elementary School enrolls approximately 638 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Forest Dale Elementary School serve?
Forest Dale Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Forest Dale Elementary School?
Approximately 13.4:1 students per teacher at Forest Dale Elementary School.
How diverse is Forest Dale Elementary School?
Forest Dale Elementary School reports a student body of 75% White, 9% Hispanic, 6% Black, 6% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Forest Dale Elementary School?
Forest Dale Elementary School is overseen by Carmel Clay Schools in Hamilton County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.