Best Public Schools in Concord, MI

The city of Concord, Michigan, is served by the small Concord Community Schools district, which educates 617 students across three schools—an elementary, middle, and high school—in a rural community where the district overall ranks in the 26th percentile statewide, indicating significant academic challenges.

For parents, the standout school is Concord Middle School, which earned a 3-star rating in 2024-2025 and ranked in the 56th percentile—a dramatic improvement over its 2-star ratings in other years. That year, its 8th graders posted the district's highest proficiency rates in any subject, with 64.4% proficient in Science and 68.9% in PSAT English Language Arts, both exceeding state averages. In contrast, Concord High School shines in keeping students on track, boasting a 95.6% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, far better than state averages. However, its academic scores lag, with only 32.4% proficient in SAT reading versus 52.1% statewide, and it has the district's highest chronic absenteeism rate at 32.8%. Concord Elementary School serves the largest population (292 students) but shows a troubling decline in English proficiency from 35.1% in 3rd grade to just 22% in 5th grade.

District-wide, math is a critical weakness, with proficiency rates often less than half the state average—for example, only 12.2% of 6th graders were proficient in 2025-2026 versus 31.9% statewide. Chronic absenteeism is a serious issue across all three schools, ranging from 24.3% at the elementary to 32.8% at the high school. Despite spending between $15,247 and $18,170 per student—well above state averages—and maintaining small class sizes (ratios as low as 14.6:1), academic outcomes remain below par. This suggests that financial investment alone isn't solving the challenges posed by high absenteeism and socioeconomic factors, as over half of elementary and middle school students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The middle school's one-year success offers a potential blueprint for improvement, but the district as a whole needs targeted interventions in math and attendance to reverse its downward trends.