Enrollment
240
Elementary
DISTRICT 338 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 180477000854
James Whitcomb Riley School 43
150 W 40th St, Indianapolis, IN 46208 · (317) 226-4243 · Marion County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL240 STUDENTS
F
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 1% of Indiana public elementary schools
- FTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- FBeats 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
8.7:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
73%
174 students
DISTRICT 58% · STATE 50%
Community
0
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 | 41 | 17% |
| Kindergarten | 39 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 31 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 30 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 25 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 34 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (39) is 15% larger than its 5th grade class (34).
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
5.3%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
4.2%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 5 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 4 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IN schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
4.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.2%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 5% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 24% typical for Indiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 James Whitcomb Riley School 43
James Whitcomb Riley School 43's state test result (4.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Whitcomb Riley School 43 this school | 240 | 72.5% | 4.6% |
| Phalen Leadership Academy - IN Inc Indianapolis | 247 | 73.7% | 14.2% |
| Joshua Academy Evansville | 254 | 76.0% | 24.8% |
| Louis B Russell Jr School 48 Indianapolis | 274 | 79.2% | 14.2% |
| Abraham Lincoln Elementary School East Chicago | 282 | 75.9% | 13.6% |
| Muessel Elementary School South Bend | 295 | 68.8% | 5.3% |
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 James Whitcomb Riley School 43 ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Marion County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 4.6% | #981 of 983 | #139 of 140 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 4.2% | #984 of 986 | #142 of 142 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 5.3% | #982 of 986 | #140 of 142 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 240 | #943 of 1,079 | #137 of 157 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 8.7:1 | #2 of 991 | #1 of 142 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.8% | #506 of 996 | #134 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 72.5% | #118 of 1,058 | #37 of 152 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -54.9% | #5 of 597 | #2 of 86 |
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
240
-140 (-37%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 347
Student : Teacher
8.7:1
was 7.6:1
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 | 240 | 27.5 | 8.7:1 | 73% (174) |
| 2023-24 | 312 | 25.5 | 12.2:1 | 54% (169) |
| 2022-23 | 275 | 23.3 | 11.8:1 | 86% (237) |
| 2020-21 | 380 | 50 | 7.6:1 | 80% (305) |
| 2017-18 | 532 | 38.3 | 13.9:1 | 80% (424) |
| 2015-16 | 396 | 21 | 18.9:1 | 77% (306) |
| 2010-11 | 485 | 29 | 16.7:1 | 81% (395) |
| 2000-01 | 435 | 34 | 12.8:1 | 88% (382) |
| 1990-91 | 347 | 26 | 13.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James Whitcomb Riley School 43.
About James Whitcomb Riley School 43
James Whitcomb Riley School 43 is a low-enrollment elementary school that serves part of Indianapolis, Indiana. The student body numbers 240 students, from pre-K through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in Indiana is about 436, so this school runs 45% smaller than that.
The district for James Whitcomb Riley School 43 is Indianapolis Public Schools, with 49 schools and 21,055 students.
Roughly 74% of students at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 are Black. The rest of enrollment is 11% multiracial, 9% Hispanic, and 5% White. Among all residents of Marion County, the Black share is about 27%. The school's diversity index is 43%, meaning two students picked at random have a 43% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Dividing enrollment by its 27.5 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 8.7:1. That is lower than the 15.5:1 average for elementary schools in Indiana. Eligible students account for 73% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. Across public schools in Marion County, the average is 60%.
The allk12 Grade for James Whitcomb Riley School 43 is F. Compared with Indiana public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 1% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The BeatsExpectations model predicts 24.2% for James Whitcomb Riley School 43, given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The actual figure is 4.6%. The 19.6-point gap ranks in the bottom 10% of Indiana schools.
Marion County has these Census figures: the median household income is $66,346, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 35% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. Marion County is home to 274 public schools and about 161,456 public school students.
The nearest public school is Shortridge High School, at about 0.8 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, James Whitcomb Riley School 43 ranks 6th in a group of 6 nearby schools.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is City: Large: inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 dropped 37% between 2020-21 and 2024-25, from 380 to 240 students. Federal data show the ratio rising from 7.6:1 to 8.7:1.
Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at James Whitcomb Riley School 43. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Marion County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
975,809
Census ACS
Median income
$66,346
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
274
161,456 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Indianapolis Public Schools
- Arsenal Technical High SchoolHigh · 2,360 students
- Crispus Attucks High SchoolHigh · 1,269 students
- Shortridge High SchoolHigh · 1,206 students
- George Washington High SchoolHigh · 729 students
- Broad Ripple Middle School - an IB World SchoolMiddle · 623 students
- Northwest Middle School - an IB World SchoolMiddle · 623 students
Other schools in Indianapolis
- Indiana Connections AcademyCombined · 5,376 students
- North Central High SchoolHigh · 3,682 students
- Franklin Central High SchoolHigh · 3,438 students
- Warren Central High SchoolHigh · 3,391 students
- Ben Davis High SchoolHigh · 3,315 students
- Pike High SchoolHigh · 3,188 students
Nearby schools
- Shortridge High School0.8 mi · 1,206
- William Bell School 60 - a Butler Lab Reggio Emilia School0.9 mi · 381
- Louis B Russell Jr School 480.9 mi · 274
- Mary Nicholson School 70 Center for Inquiry1.0 mi · 351
- Herron Preparatory Academy1.2 mi · 428
- Indiana School For The Deaf1.3 mi · 311
Frequently asked questions
About James Whitcomb Riley School 43What is the total enrollment at James Whitcomb Riley School 43?
James Whitcomb Riley School 43 enrolls approximately 240 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does James Whitcomb Riley School 43 serve?
James Whitcomb Riley School 43 serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at James Whitcomb Riley School 43?
Approximately 8.7:1 students per teacher at James Whitcomb Riley School 43.
What is the student diversity at James Whitcomb Riley School 43?
Student demographics at James Whitcomb Riley School 43 are roughly 5% White, 9% Hispanic, 74% Black, 2% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is James Whitcomb Riley School 43 in?
James Whitcomb Riley School 43 is part of Indianapolis Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.