Summary:
Saugatuck Public Schools is home to a single middle school—Saugatuck Middle School—serving grades 6-8 with 186 students in a small, lakeshore Michigan community. This compact school consistently outperforms state averages across every subject and grade level, though recent trends show some areas of concern.
Saugatuck Middle School ranks in the top 11% of Michigan middle schools (96th of 896) with a 4-star rating, down slightly from a 5-star rating and 72nd place two years ago. Academically, the school shines brightest in 8th grade Social Studies, where 71% of students are proficient versus 50.3% statewide—a 20.7-point advantage. English Language Arts and Math scores in 6th and 7th grades also run 13.5 to 18.6 points above state averages. However, the most recent year brought sharp declines in 8th grade: PSAT Math dropped 17.4 points to 49.3% proficiency, Science fell 11.9 points to 56.5%, and PSAT ELA slipped 11.5 points to 79.7%. Meanwhile, 6th grade ELA surged 11.8 points to 56% proficiency, and 7th grade math improved 4.8 points to 51.9%.
With a 17.8:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $9,180, the school achieves strong results efficiently. About 27.4% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, indicating moderate economic diversity that does not hinder performance. One notable challenge: 26.2% of students are chronically absent—more than one in four—which, while slightly better than state averages, remains high for a top-tier school. The 30.4-point gap between 8th grade PSAT ELA (79.7%) and Math (49.3%) suggests mathematics is a relative weakness. For parents, this is a high-achieving small school with excellent literacy and social studies outcomes, but the recent 8th grade declines and absenteeism rates are worth monitoring as the school works to regain its 5-star status.
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