Summary:
The two middle schools within Garden City Public Schools in Michigan—Farmington 56 Campus (grades 5-6) and Garden City Middle School (grades 7-8)—serve a combined 878 students in a district ranked in the 23rd percentile statewide, with both schools facing significant academic and attendance challenges.
Comparing the two, Farmington 56 Campus struggles more with attendance, as 44.7% of its students are chronically absent versus 38.0% at Garden City Middle School—both far above the 27.9% state average. Academically, the younger students at Farmington 56 show particularly weak math skills, with only 13.3% of 5th graders proficient, a dramatic drop from the prior year's 24.9%. Meanwhile, Garden City Middle School shows a stark subject-area divide: its 8th graders score 56.8% proficient on PSAT ELA (close to the state's 64.8%), but only 15.5% proficient in PSAT math, less than half the state average. The school's ranking has also slipped from the 34th percentile (2 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 28th-29th percentile (1 star) recently.
Despite spending a generous $17,323-$17,552 per student, outcomes remain well below state averages across nearly every M-Step subject, with the widest gap in 8th grade social studies (-20.2 points). The most urgent issue is the absenteeism crisis—nearly half of Farmington 56 students miss significant instructional time, which likely drives the depressed scores and the year-over-year declines seen in 5th grade math, science, and social studies. For parents, this means both schools offer smaller class sizes at Garden City Middle School (16.5:1 ratio) but require strong at-home support to combat attendance issues and supplement math instruction, which is the district's most critical academic weakness.
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