Middle Schoolers Earn 5,000 High School Credits, Getting a Head Start Before Ninth Grade

   

More than 1,000 Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) middle schoolers earned high school credit during 2025-26 before setting foot in a high school classroom, proof that the district's push is paying off.

As part of the Rebuilding Stronger initiative started in 2024-25, IPS redesigned its middle school model to create dedicated grades 6–8 schools with consistent academic pathways and expanded opportunities in STEM, arts, and advanced coursework for students across the district.

The result: 1,069 IPS middle schoolers, or 33.6%, earned at least one high school credit this year, totaling 5,217 credits districtwide. Nearly 80% were 8th graders.

"This is exactly what equitable access looks like," said Aaron Munson, IPS director of middle school academies and pathways. "We're giving students the chance to challenge themselves years before high school, so that by the time they walk through those doors as freshmen, they're already building momentum toward graduation. Just like our high schoolers are earning college credit early, our middle schoolers are earning high school credit early, and that's a head start that pays off for years to come."

All seven IPS middle schools now offer Honors Algebra I, Honors Biology, World Language I, and Preparing for College and Careers for high school credit. Broad Ripple, Harshman, and TC Howe also offer Honors Geometry, while Harshman, the district's high ability middle school, adds Honors English 9 and Citizenship and Civics.

Among 8th graders specifically, participation varied by school but reflected strong districtwide momentum:

• Arlington Middle School, A STEM School: 76 8th graders earned high school credit (a 64.4% participation rate)
• William Penn Middle School, A STEM School: 105 8th graders earned high school credit (76%)
• Broad Ripple Middle School, an IB World School: 147 8th graders earned high school credit (75%)
• Thomas Carr Howe Middle School, an IB World School: 143 8th graders earned high school credit (84.1%)
• Northwest Middle School, an IB World School: 144 8th graders earned high school credit (73%)
• H.W. Longfellow Middle School, an IB World School: 117 8th graders earned high school credit (85.4%)
• H.L. Harshman Middle School, A High Ability and Dual Language School: 156 8th graders earned high school credit — 100% of the school's 8th grade class

Munson notes that the push comes as the new Indiana Diploma and Readiness Seals require more credits than previous diploma tracks, making early access to high school coursework more valuable than ever. 

The state has specifically encouraged the Preparing for College and Careers course as a strong option for middle schoolers to take for credit,  a shift IPS was already positioned to make thanks to its Rebuilding Stronger restructuring, he said.

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