Summary:
The city of Grayling, Michigan, is served by the Crawford AuSable Schools district, which includes four schools spanning grades PK-12 and serving roughly 1,640 students in a predominantly rural, economically diverse community.
For parents, the standout is Grayling High School, which earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the 86th percentile statewide—far outpacing the district's overall 3-star rating. It posts a 95.8% graduation rate, a 0% dropout rate, and beats state averages in every subject, including SAT Math (47.2% vs. 26.5% state) and Science (41.5% vs. state). This success is notable given that 43% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch and it has the largest class sizes in the district. In contrast, Grayling Middle School is the district's biggest concern: its state ranking fell from the 80th to the 54th percentile in just two years, and 6th grade ELA proficiency plummeted to 19.3% (from 34.2% the prior year). This decline is especially puzzling because the middle school spends far more per student ($26,635) than any other school in the district—74% more than the high school—yet its performance is slipping. Grayling Elementary School shows steady, if below-average, proficiency in ELA and Math for grades 3-4, while Great Lakes Online Education, an alternative K-12 program, struggles with a 63.1% graduation rate and 15.7% dropout rate, though it serves a higher-need population (76% free/reduced lunch) at a fraction of the cost ($5,982 per student).
Chronic absenteeism is a district-wide red flag, hitting 33.6% at the high school—despite its academic success—and exceeding 25% at both the elementary and middle schools. A notable strength is math, where several grade levels (4th, 7th, 8th PSAT, and high school SAT) outperform state averages, suggesting instructional strategies that could be applied to ELA. Overall, the district shows a "barbell" pattern: strong performance at the elementary and high school levels, with a dip in the middle grades that warrants targeted intervention.
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