Summary:
Au Gres-Sims Middle School is the sole middle school in the Au Gres-Sims School District, serving grades 6-8 with 104 students in the small, rural community of Au Gres, Michigan. The school has shown steady improvement in statewide rankings, climbing from the 56th to 63rd percentile over the past three years, and currently holds a 3-star rating.
This school demonstrates notable strengths in several areas. Eighth-grade social studies is a standout subject, with 65.6% proficiency—a remarkable 15.3 points above the state average. Eighth graders also excel on the PSAT, exceeding state averages in both English Language Arts (68.8% vs. 64.8%) and math (40.6% vs. 33.2%). The most dramatic improvement came in 8th-grade PSAT math, which jumped 14.9 points in a single year. Seventh-grade ELA also surpasses the state average by nearly 4 points. However, 6th-grade ELA is a significant concern, with proficiency dropping from 40% to 25.7%—now 11.8 points below the state average. Math proficiency in 6th and 7th grades also trails state averages by 2-3 points.
Parents should note that chronic absenteeism affects one in three students (33.6%), well above the state rate of 27.9%, which likely hampers academic progress. The school serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population, with nearly 60% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. A clear pattern emerges where upper-grade students outperform lower grades relative to state benchmarks, suggesting instruction becomes more effective as students advance. With only 30-35 students per grade, proficiency percentages can swing dramatically with just a few students' performance, so year-over-year changes should be interpreted cautiously. Despite these challenges, the school's ability to exceed state averages in multiple subjects—particularly social studies and 8th-grade PSAT—indicates pockets of instructional excellence that could be replicated across all grade levels.
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