Summary:
The Wolverine Community School District is a small, rural Michigan district serving approximately 249 students across two schools: Wolverine MiddleHigh School (grades 6-12) and Wolverine Elementary School (grades PK-6). Both schools serve a predominantly low-income population, with per-student spending around $15,000 and favorable 14:1 student-teacher ratios.
For parents, the standout story is at Wolverine Elementary School, which made a dramatic 22-percentile-point jump in one year, moving from the 27th to the 49th percentile. This improvement is driven largely by exceptional 4th-grade results, where students exceed state proficiency by 11.3 points in ELA and 13.2 points in math. However, 5th grade remains a concern, with proficiency rates trailing the state by roughly 18 points in both subjects. At Wolverine MiddleHigh School, performance is more consistent but generally below state averages. The one bright spot is 7th-grade math, where 50% of students are proficient—16.7 points above the state average. Conversely, 10th-grade ELA shows a steep decline, with only 23.5% proficiency, a staggering 34.5 points below the state.
Beyond test scores, the secondary school posts a chronic absenteeism rate of 19.5%, notably better than the state's 27.9%, while the elementary school's rate of 30.7% is slightly above average. The district's biggest challenge is its 12.5% dropout rate, nearly double the state average, though the 81.2% graduation rate is closer to the state's 84%. Social studies is a relative strength across multiple grades, with 5th graders exceeding state averages by 11.8 points. Given the very small class sizes—often 15-20 students per grade—individual student performance can cause significant year-to-year swings, so parents should view these metrics as helpful signals rather than definitive judgments on instructional quality.
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