High Schools in Cassopolis Public Schools

Cassopolis Public Schools serves two high schools in the rural southwestern Michigan community of Cassopolis, offering grades 9-12 to a combined student population of roughly 300 students. The district overall ranks in the 27th percentile statewide, but the two schools present vastly different profiles: Cassopolis High School is the comprehensive anchor enrolling 281 students, while Cassopolis Alternative Educational serves just 16 students in a specialized program for higher-need learners.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Cassopolis High School excels at getting students to graduation—its 93.9% graduation rate outpaces the state average by nearly 10 points—but struggles mightily with math proficiency. Only 6.6% of 11th graders and 6.8% of 10th graders are proficient in math, roughly one-quarter of the state average. Reading and writing are comparatively stronger, with 9th-grade PSAT ELA proficiency at 52.5% approaching the state's 60.2%, and 11th-grade social studies actually exceeding state averages. Encouragingly, the school showed dramatic year-over-year gains in social studies (+11.5 points), reading/writing (+8.4 points), and science (+6.0 points) between 2024-25 and 2025-26—though math declined slightly. Chronic absenteeism affects nearly one-third of students, which likely compounds the math challenges.

In stark contrast, Cassopolis Alternative Educational faces severe struggles: its 21.4% graduation rate and dropout rate are both triple the state average, and it serves a population where 81.25% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. Despite a favorable 10:1 student-teacher ratio, the school spends about $5,000 less per student ($10,796 vs. $15,780) than the main high school, raising questions about whether this high-need program is adequately resourced. The alternative school's poor outcomes significantly drag down the district's overall 81.2% graduation rate, masking the main high school's success. Parents should view these two schools as serving fundamentally different missions and student populations, with Cassopolis High School offering a more traditional path with strong graduation support, while the alternative program requires careful consideration of its unique challenges and resource limitations.