Summary:
Belding Area School District is served by a single high school, Belding High School, which enrolls 511 students in grades 9-12 in a predominantly rural area of Michigan. The school has shown steady improvement in its statewide ranking over the past three years, moving from the 27th percentile to the 40th percentile, and now holds a 2-star rating.
For parents, the most encouraging news is that Belding High School graduates students at a notably high rate—90.1% compared to the state average of 84.0%—and its dropout rate of 6.0% is below the state’s 7.1%. Chronic absenteeism is also a relative strength at 23.5%, which is 4.4 points better than the state average, especially given that nearly 60% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. These figures suggest the school does an excellent job keeping students engaged and on track to earn a diploma.
However, academic proficiency on standardized tests remains a significant challenge. In the most recent school year, only 11% of 11th graders scored proficient on the SAT math section, compared to 26.5% statewide, and SAT reading/writing proficiency was 34.1% versus 52.1% statewide. Perhaps most concerning is a sharp 12.9-point drop in SAT reading/writing scores from the prior year. There is one bright spot: 10th graders actually outperformed the state average in PSAT math (32.3% vs. 31.5%), suggesting some effective instruction at that grade level, though those gains do not carry into junior year. Social studies proficiency (28.6%) also lags the state by nearly 15 points. With per-student spending of $14,102 and a 19.4:1 student-teacher ratio, the school has moderate resources, but the data suggests targeted interventions in math, reading, and social studies—particularly for juniors—could help translate the school’s strong graduation outcomes into stronger academic achievement.
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