Summary:
Concord Community Schools is a small, rural district in Concord, Michigan, serving about 617 students across three schools: one elementary school (grades K-5), one middle school (grades 6-8), and one high school (grades 9-12). The district holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the 26th percentile statewide, with a significant share of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch.
Concord High School stands out as the district’s strongest performer in terms of student success and retention. It boasts a 95.6% graduation rate—well above the state average of 84%—and a zero dropout rate. Its 9th grade ELA scores nearly match the state average, and its overall ranking has improved from the 23rd to the 34th percentile in recent years. However, academic proficiency drops sharply by 11th grade, with only 32.4% proficient in SAT reading/writing and 24.3% in science. Concord Middle School showed dramatic improvement in 2024-2025, particularly in 8th grade science (64.4% proficiency, far above the state’s 41.1%) and 8th grade ELA, but those gains were not sustained into 2025-2026, when scores fell well below state averages. Concord Elementary School remains the most challenged, with math proficiency as low as 13.6% in 5th grade and ELA ranging from 22% to 35%—all below state benchmarks.
The most pressing issue district-wide is math. Proficiency gaps range from 15 to 22 percentage points below state averages at every grade level, with 8th grade PSAT math at just 10.7% versus 33.2% statewide. Chronic absenteeism also rises with grade level, from 24.3% in elementary to 32.8% in high school. Interestingly, the high school spends the most per student ($18,170) yet shows the weakest relative performance, while the middle school spends the least ($15,247) and produced the district’s best results in 2024-2025. For parents, this district offers a caring environment that keeps students in school, but families should be aware that academic proficiency—especially in math—lags significantly behind state averages, and performance tends to decline as students advance through the grades.
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