Enrollment
227
Elementary
DISTRICT 425 · STATE 436
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MERRILLVILLE COMMUNITY SCHOOL CORP·NCES 180969001584
John Wood Elementary School
6100 E 73rd Ave, Merrillville, IN 46410 · (219) 650-5305 · Lake County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL227 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 39% of Indiana public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 15.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
133 students
DISTRICT 54% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 45 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 48 | 21% |
| Grade 2 | 39 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 49 | 22% |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (46).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · 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
John Wood Elementary School→Merrillville Intermediate School→Pierce Middle School→Merrillville High School
Based on grade levels within Merrillville Community School Corp. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ILEARN 2024-25 . % At or Above ProficiencyEnglish Language Arts
36.2%
IN avg 39.2%
Math
45.7%
IN avg 41.1%
What this means: On the ILEARN, Indiana's statewide test, about 36 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
34.1%
based on IN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 34% 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 John Wood Elementary School
John Wood Elementary School's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Wood Elementary School this school | 227 | 58.6% | 36.3% |
| Bethel Park Elementary | pilotED Schools Indianapolis | 225 | 68.0% | 13.3% |
| Ralph Waldo Emerson School 58 - an Exploratory School Indianapolis | 241 | 70.1% | 17.0% |
| Cold Spring School Indianapolis | 359 | 51.0% | 33.4% |
| Merle Sidener Academy 59 - a High Ability School Indianapolis | 228 | 47.8% | 68.1% |
| Arthur C Newby Elementary School 2 Speedway | 223 | 68.2% | 57.1% |
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 John Wood Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Indiana | In Lake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #602 of 983 | #32 of 61 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.7% | #502 of 986 | #29 of 61 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.2% | #546 of 986 | #29 of 61 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 227 | #966 of 1,079 | #68 of 70 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.8:1 | #33 of 991 | #2 of 69 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.5% | #125 of 996 | #5 of 69 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.6% | #388 of 1,058 | #27 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.8% | #44 of 597 | #8 of 39 |
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
227
-84 (-27%) vs 2020
-50% since 1990-91, when it was 458
Student : Teacher
10.8:1
was 16.4:1
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 | 227 | 21 | 10.8:1 | 59% (133) |
| 2023-24 | 292 | 20.5 | 14.2:1 | 68% (198) |
| 2022-23 | 315 | 20.7 | 15.2:1 | 60% (190) |
| 2020-21 | 311 | 19 | 16.4:1 | 50% (157) |
| 2017-18 | 343 | 19 | 18.1:1 | 53% (182) |
| 2015-16 | 329 | 16 | 20.6:1 | 45% (147) |
| 2010-11 | 330 | 17 | 19.4:1 | 45% (149) |
| 2000-01 | 305 | 17 | 17.9:1 | 20% (62) |
| 1990-91 | 458 | 22 | 20.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John Wood Elementary School.
About John Wood Elementary School
John Wood Elementary School operates as a small elementary school in Merrillville, Indiana. Students in pre-K through 4 attend the school, which enrolls 227 students. For comparison, elementary schools in Indiana average about 436 students.
Merrillville Community School Corp oversees John Wood Elementary School and 7 other schools, with 5,904 students in total.
Enrollment at John Wood Elementary School is mixed, with Black students the largest group at 45%. Beyond that, enrollment is 29% Hispanic, 19% White, and 5% multiracial. In Lake County overall, about 23% of residents are Black. The chance that two students picked at random at John Wood Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 67%.
John Wood Elementary School counts 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 10.8 students for each one. The 15.5:1 average for elementary schools in Indiana is higher than this school's figure. About 59% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits. Across public schools in Lake County, the average is 47%.
allk12 grades John Wood Elementary School a C+. The grade compares the school only with Indiana public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, John Wood Elementary School is 2.2 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 36.3% actual, 34.1% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Indiana.
County data help place the school in context: in Lake County, median household income is about $71,493, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 26% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The public schools of Lake County number 121 and enroll about 74,661.
Joan Martin Elementary School is the public school closest to John Wood Elementary School, about 2.6 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. On average proficiency, John Wood Elementary School is 6th of 7 nearby schools with test data.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
John Wood Elementary School saw enrollment fall 27% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. The ratio of students to teachers went from 16.4:1 to 10.8:1 over the same years.
The discussion area below is open to posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Lake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
500,379
Census ACS
Median income
$71,493
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
121
74,661 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Merrillville Community School Corp
- Merrillville High SchoolHigh · 2,115 students
- Pierce Middle SchoolMiddle · 878 students
- Merrillville Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 788 students
- Jonas E Salk Elementary SchoolElementary · 565 students
- Homer Iddings Elementary SchoolElementary · 535 students
- Henry P Fieler Elementary SchoolElementary · 466 students
Other schools in Merrillville
- Merrillville High SchoolHigh · 2,115 students
- Pierce Middle SchoolMiddle · 878 students
- Merrillville Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 788 students
- Jonas E Salk Elementary SchoolElementary · 565 students
- Homer Iddings Elementary SchoolElementary · 535 students
- Henry P Fieler Elementary SchoolElementary · 466 students
Nearby schools
- Joan Martin Elementary School2.6 mi · 497
- Hobart High School2.9 mi · 1,320
- Hobart Middle School2.9 mi · 905
- Merrillville High School3.6 mi · 2,115
- Pierce Middle School3.7 mi · 878
- Veterans Elementary School at Mundell3.7 mi · 594
Frequently asked questions
About John Wood Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at John Wood Elementary School?
John Wood Elementary School enrolls approximately 227 students in grades PK-04.
Is John Wood Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
John Wood Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many teachers does John Wood Elementary School have?
John Wood Elementary School employs 21 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 10.8:1.
What is the student diversity at John Wood Elementary School?
Student demographics at John Wood Elementary School are roughly 19% White, 29% Hispanic, 45% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is John Wood Elementary School in?
John Wood Elementary School is part of Merrillville Community School Corp.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.