Mio-AuSable Schools

The Mio-AuSable Schools district is a small, rural district in Mio, Michigan, serving about 497 students across two schools: MioAuSable High School (grades 6-12) and MioAuSable Elementary School (grades PK-5).

For parents, the most important takeaway is that this district struggles academically but shows real strengths in keeping students on track to graduate. MioAuSable High School graduates 90.6% of its students—well above the state average of 84%—and has a dropout rate of just 3.1%, less than half the state's 7.1%. However, its state ranking has fallen sharply from the 60th percentile (3 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 38th percentile (2 stars) in 2025-2026. The lone bright spot in test scores is 11th-grade science, where 39.3% of students are proficient, beating the state average of 35.2%. In contrast, MioAuSable Elementary School has remained stuck in the bottom quartile of Michigan schools for three straight years. Math proficiency there collapses dramatically by grade: 36.6% of 3rd graders are proficient, but that falls to 24.1% in 4th grade and just 8.3% in 5th grade—meaning only 1 in 12 students is on grade level in math by the end of elementary school.

Chronic absenteeism is a systemic problem across both schools, with 37% of high schoolers and 34.5% of elementary students missing 10% or more of school days, compared to a 27.9% state average. This likely fuels the academic struggles, though the district spends a relatively high $15,104-$15,547 per student. There is also notable volatility in year-to-year scores—6th-grade ELA dropped from 13.9% to 7.9% proficiency, while 7th-grade math jumped from 16.7% to 29.6%—suggesting small class sizes where a few students can swing results dramatically. The most puzzling trend is a "middle school cliff" in ELA: 10th graders score just 34.3% proficiency on the PSAT, a staggering 31-point drop from the 9th grade's 65.6%. Given that 56-62% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, the district faces significant socioeconomic challenges, but the strong graduation rate shows that students who stay enrolled are finishing school, even if proficiency gaps remain large.