Summary:
The city of Alma, Michigan, is served by 7 schools spanning early childhood through high school, including elementary, middle, and high school options, with the majority belonging to Alma Public Schools, a district ranked in the 53rd percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout academic performer is Donald L Pavlik Middle School, which has climbed to the 58th percentile and excels in 8th-grade English Language Arts, with 72.5% proficiency—well above the state average. However, the school shows a stark contrast in math, where only 26.2% of 8th graders are proficient. Alma Senior High School is also improving dramatically, jumping from the 36th to 56th percentile, and boasts a strong 91.6% graduation rate with SAT reading scores above the state average. At the elementary level, Hillcrest Elementary School stands out for having the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at just 16.9%, while Luce Road Elementary School offers the most personalized attention with an 8.7:1 student-teacher ratio and the highest per-student spending among traditional schools.
The most significant concern across Alma is mathematics, where proficiency lags state averages at every grade level—from 39.1% in 3rd grade down to just 20.2% on the 11th-grade SAT. The alternative programs face more serious challenges: GIRESD Center Programs and Gratiot Continuous Learning Center report graduation rates of 0% and 17.6% respectively, with chronic absenteeism exceeding 63% at GIRESD. Despite serving predominantly economically disadvantaged populations (65-78% free/reduced lunch eligibility), the district shows a positive trajectory overall, with consistent percentile improvements across multiple schools, suggesting that recent initiatives are beginning to yield results even as math instruction and alternative education pathways remain critical areas for targeted intervention.
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