Shepherd Public Schools

Shepherd Public Schools is a mid-sized Michigan district serving roughly 1,746 students across five schools in a mix of small-town and rural settings, covering pre-K through 12th grade. The district overall ranks in the 62nd percentile statewide, but individual schools vary widely in performance, demographics, and outcomes.

For parents, the standout is Shepherd High School, which earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the 76th percentile. It posts a 93.3% graduation rate, a mere 2.5% dropout rate, and strong test scores—especially in 9th-grade PSAT math, where 51.5% of students are proficient, a full 18 points above the state average. It also does this with the district’s lowest per-student spending ($11,737). In contrast, Odyssey MiddleHigh School is the district’s biggest challenge: a 1-star alternative school with a 57.1% graduation rate, a 28.5% dropout rate, and 49.4% chronic absenteeism. Despite spending $19,163 per student—the most in the district—it ranks in only the 24th percentile. Shepherd Middle School offers reliable, consistent performance, holding steady in the 71st–72nd percentile for three straight years, with 7th-grade math improving to 43% proficiency.

At the elementary level, results are mixed. Shepherd Elementary School saw strong 3rd-grade ELA gains (+18.3 points to 49.5%), but its 4th-grade scores lag below state averages in both ELA (35.1%) and math (33.8%). Winn Elementary School is a paradox: it has the district’s lowest chronic absenteeism (9.0%) and relatively low poverty, yet suffered steep declines in 5th grade—social studies plummeted 46.5 points to just 10.6% proficiency. Chronic absenteeism is a clear predictor across the district: as rates climb from Winn’s 9% to Odyssey’s 49.4%, academic outcomes generally fall. Social studies is a district-wide weak spot, with the exception of strong 8th-grade (55.1%) and 11th-grade (54.1%) results at the middle and high schools.