Summary:
Beal City Public Schools is home to a single high school, Beal City High School, which serves grades 6 through 12 in the Mount Pleasant, MI area, with a total enrollment of 376 students.
For parents, the standout story here is exceptional academic performance. Beal City High School has earned a 5-star rating and ranks 54th out of 800 Michigan high schools, placing it in the 93rd percentile—a remarkable jump from 224th the previous year. The school posts a 98% graduation rate versus the state's 84%, and a 2% dropout rate. College readiness is particularly strong: 71.2% of 11th graders are proficient in SAT reading/writing (state: 52.1%) and 69.2% in SAT math—nearly three times the state average of 26.5%. Science and social studies proficiency also far exceed state norms. The school appears to be a "math powerhouse," with 8th-grade math proficiency at 68.5% compared to the state's 33.2%. Chronic absenteeism is low at 16.2% (state: 27.9%), and only 21.54% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch.
However, there are nuances worth noting. While the school excels overall, 6th-grade English Language Arts proficiency dropped sharply from 36.6% to 22% year-over-year, now below the state average of 37.5%—a potential red flag for incoming middle schoolers. Conversely, the data shows a clear upward trajectory as students advance: math proficiency climbs from 22% in 6th grade to 68.5% by 8th grade, suggesting the school is highly effective at developing skills over time. Also notable is that this success comes despite a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 18.7 and per-student spending of $12,949. Finally, 11th-grade science proficiency jumped from 24% to 53.8% in one year—a dramatic improvement that may reflect a strong cohort or curriculum change, but is worth watching to confirm it's sustainable.
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