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Dawson Elementary School

Q: Is Dawson Elementary School a good school?

Dawson Elementary School ranks 524 th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

524^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,488 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 65% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Dawson Elementary School is a public elementary school in Allegan, Michigan, serving 286 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Allegan Public Schools district, which is ranked 343 out of 613 districts in the state.

Dawson Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state in standardized test scores, with 52.1% of its 3rd-grade students scoring proficient or better in English Language Arts and Math, compared to 36.2% and 36.9% for the district, respectively. However, the school has experienced higher chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.7% to 33.7% over the past few years. Dawson also serves a relatively high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 50% to 62.29% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.

Compared to nearby schools, Dawson Elementary generally outperforms other schools in the Allegan Public Schools district, such as Pine Trails Elementary and West Ward Elementary. However, it lags behind some higher-performing schools in neighboring districts, such as Hamilton Elementary and Hopkins Elementary. Dawson's increased per-student spending, from $12,483 in 2020-2021 to $16,671 in 2023-2024, may have contributed to its relatively strong academic performance.

278

Students ?

15.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,671

Per pupil spending ?

62.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

125 Elm St
Allegan, MI 49010-9401

(269) 673-6925

District: Allegan Public Schools

Students who attend Dawson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	LE White Middle School
High:	Allegan High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

82.7%

Two or more races:

8.3%

Hispanic:

7.2%

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 42nd percentile in 2015 → 65th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Michigan average (45% vs 39% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 23 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the Michigan median (65th percentile)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school45%

District avg36%

Michigan avg39%

524^th of 1,488

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Top 35%▲ up 22 pts since 2015

From bottom 42% (2015) to top 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Elementary Schools in the Allegan Public Schools

343^rd of 613Allegan Public Schools among Michigan districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	63.0	524 of 1488	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.2	841 of 1486	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	65.6	464 of 1470	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.2	663 of 1344	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	41.2	648 of 1153	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	47.2	719 of 1408	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	61.3	592 of 1448	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2017	52.6	642 of 1466	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2016	57.7	646 of 1548	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2015	45.5	909 of 1580	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2014	55.2	733 of 1533	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2013	50.1	843 of 1563	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	65.8	512 of 1566	67.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	74.1	368 of 1552	76.3%	★★★★☆
2010	60.9	826 of 1552	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2009	76.1	319 of 1589	79.9%	★★★★☆
2008	71.4	451 of 1577	71.4%	★★★★☆
2007	69.2	472 of 1565	69.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	73.8	320 of 1545	79.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	58.5	500 of 1338	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	46.4	677 of 1342	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	65.9	366 of 1321	72.3%	★★★★☆
2022	47.5	556 of 1106	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	52.1	395 of 902	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.1	573 of 1443	60.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	65.8	370 of 1346	72.5%	★★★★☆
2024	42.8	754 of 1381	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.6	421 of 1350	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	64.0	317 of 1099	71.2%	★★★★☆
2021	63.2	212 of 749	71.7%	★★★★☆
2019	74.9	174 of 1134	84.7%	★★★★☆
2018	71.2	300 of 1397	78.5%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	58.4	542 of 1366	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.5	778 of 1347	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	53.4	580 of 1334	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	38.5	697 of 1139	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	37.6	570 of 915	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	58.2	594 of 1446	58.9%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	56.4	504 of 1206	58.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	34.3	806 of 1204	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	61.1	427 of 1198	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	34.7	723 of 1102	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.8	709 of 1005	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.6	843 of 1128	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	52.5	595 of 1253	52.5%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)73rd percentile+8 vs school

Female (2025)63rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)60th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)58th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts51%+9 vs state

Math43%+5 vs state

Science43%+3 vs state

Social Studies36%+6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Dawson Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				M-Step English Language Arts (2025)			M-Step Math (2025)			M-Step Science (2025)	M-Step Social Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Dawson Elementary School	Public	K-5	125 Elm St	Allegan	49010	Allegan County	Allegan Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 673-6925	278	18	15.4	62.9%	230 (82.7%)	2 (0.7%)	20 (7.2%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.3%)	63	524^th of 1488 public elementary schools	64.8%		40.2	841^st of 1486 public elementary schools	43.4%	317	52.1	41.9	59.5	52.1	31.0	45.2	42.9	35.7	$16,671	$1,343	$15,328
West Ward Elementary School	Public	K-5	630 Vernon St	Allegan	49010	Allegan County	Allegan Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 673-7000	247	15	16.4	64.0%	208 (84.2%)	8 (3.2%)	14 (5.7%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.7%)	44.7	796^th of 1488 public elementary schools	46.5%		57.3	594^th of 1486 public elementary schools	60.0%	202	40.5	44.4	39.5	43.2	52.8	25.6	30.2	18.6	$15,410	$1,336	$14,073
North Ward Elementary School	Public	PK-K	440 River St	Allegan	49010	Allegan County	Allegan Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 673-6003	29	4	8.2	82.8%	25 (86.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	1 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (3.4%)	1 (3.4%)								(n/a)									$22,113	$1,200	$20,914
Pine Trails Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2950 Center St	Allegan	49010	Allegan County	Allegan Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 673-5379	326	20	16.7	74.5%	257 (78.8%)	9 (2.8%)	35 (10.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.4%)	27.4	1048^th of 1488 public elementary schools	29.6%		37.2	902^nd of 1486 public elementary schools	39.3%	146	20.8	38.0	38.5	20.8	34.0	12.8	30.8	15.4	$15,544	$1,680	$13,864
Hopkins Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	400 S Clark St	Hopkins	49328	Allegan County	Hopkins Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 793-7286	393	24	16.1	38.9%	344 (87.5%)	5 (1.3%)	25 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	75.4	332^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	77.7%		68.2	437^th of 1486 public elementary schools	70.6%	105	49.3	53.0	57.7	53.6	60.6	52.1	56.3	35.2	$13,613	$1,640	$11,973
Washington Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	538 Washington St	Otsego	49078	Allegan County	Otsego Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 694-7800	448	26	17.4	48.0%	396 (88.4%)	2 (0.4%)	24 (5.4%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.9%)	63.7	511^th of 1488 public elementary schools	65.7%		61	538^th of 1486 public elementary schools	63.8%	27	42.3	57.5	48.1	55.1	64.4	30.9	46.9	28.4	$12,480	$1,079	$11,400
Dix Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	503 Dix St	Otsego	49078	Allegan County	Otsego Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 694-7703	357	24	14.6	50.1%	293 (82.1%)	6 (1.7%)	17 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (11.5%)	53.7	665^th of 1488 public elementary schools	55.3%		58.1	578^th of 1486 public elementary schools	61.1%	87	37.0	46.8	41.8	18.5	45.7	36.4	58.2	36.4	$12,542	$830	$11,712
Bloomingdale Elementary School	Public	K-5	307 E Willow St	Bloomingdale	49026	Van Buren County	Bloomingdale Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 521-3935	272	18	15.1	71.3%	167 (61.4%)	2 (0.7%)	83 (30.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (7.0%)	17.8	1202^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	19.2%		18.3	1194^th of 1486 public elementary schools	19.7%	8	19.5	11.6	21.7	26.8	25.6	17.4	28.3	13.0	$00	$00	$00
Robert D Brandon Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1583 University St	Martin	49070	Allegan County	Martin Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 442-0450	299	18	16.7	50.2%	255 (85.3%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (8.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.0%)	51	702^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	52.8%		38.9	870^th of 1486 public elementary schools	41.5%	168	40.5	53.3	40.5	34.2	42.2	14.3	45.2	38.1	$14,219	$1,564	$12,655
Hamilton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	3472 Lincoln Rd	Hamilton	49419	Allegan County	Hamilton Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 751-5413	359	22	16.1	33.1%	311 (86.6%)	3 (0.8%)	29 (8.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	88.6	146^th of 1488 public elementary schools	90.2%		91.5	88^th of 1486 public elementary schools	94.1%	58	55.9	69.5		66.1	64.6				$15,303	$2,592	$12,710

Frequently Asked Questions about Dawson Elementary School

How many students attend Dawson Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 278 students attended Dawson Elementary School.

What district is Dawson Elementary School in?

Allegan Public Schools

Is Dawson Elementary School a good school?

Dawson Elementary School ranks 524^th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Dawson Elementary School?

Students at Dawson Elementary School are 83% White, 8% Two or more races, 7% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Dawson Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Dawson Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : LE White Middle School
High : Allegan High School

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Schools in Allegan, MI

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.