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Donald L Pavlik Middle School

Q: Is Donald L Pavlik Middle School a good school?

Donald L Pavlik Middle School ranks 377 th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

377^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 896 Michigan Middle Schools

Better than 58% of Michigan middle schools

Summary

Donald L Pavlik Middle School in Alma, MI, serves 457 students in grades 6-8 within the Alma Public Schools district, and has earned a 3-star rating while climbing from the 47th to the 58th percentile statewide this year.

What truly sets Pavlik apart is its remarkable success with students from low-income backgrounds. With 73.5% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch—a rate far higher than nearby schools—these students perform in the 68th percentile statewide, outpacing the school's overall ranking. This suggests the school has found effective ways to support its largest demographic group. The school also shows a clear strength in English Language Arts, with 8th graders scoring well above the state average on the PSAT. However, math remains a significant weakness, with only 20.8% of 7th graders proficient on the M-Step compared to the state average of 33.3%. The 2025-2026 school year brought strong improvement across multiple grades and subjects, indicating recent efforts may be paying off.

Compared to its neighbors, Pavlik outperforms TS Nurnberger Middle School (just 2.9 miles away) by a wide margin—for example, 40.9% vs. 19% proficiency in 6th-grade ELA. It also holds its own against Mt Pleasant Middle School, achieving comparable overall results despite serving a much higher-needs population. However, Shepherd Middle School remains a clear outperformer, ranking in the 71st-72nd percentile with lower chronic absenteeism and far fewer low-income students. Pavlik faces notable challenges too: male students lag significantly behind females (43rd vs. 66th percentile), special education students rank in the bottom 14th percentile, and support for Hispanic students dropped sharply from the 65th to 26th percentile this year. Despite spending less per student than most peers, Pavlik achieves above-average results for its demographic—a sign of efficient resource use worth celebrating.

457

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,873

Per pupil spending ?

73.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1700 Pine Ave
Alma, MI 48801-1755

(989) 463-3111

District: Alma Public Schools

Students who attend Donald L Pavlik Middle School usually attend:

High:

Alma Senior High School

Feeder schools for Donald L Pavlik Middle School:

Elementary:	Hillcrest Elementary School
	Luce Road Elementary School
	Pine Avenue Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

83.4%

Hispanic:

12.3%

Two or more races:

3.3%

See top rated Michigan middle schools

Compare Donald L Pavlik Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 53rd percentile in 2016 → 58th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the Michigan median (58th percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school40%

District avg40%

Michigan avg41%

377^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Top 42%▲ up 4 pts since 2016

From top 47% (2016) to top 42% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

295^th of 625Alma 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
2026	53.3	377 of 896	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	45.5	469 of 890	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.5	492 of 897	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.0	414 of 883	53.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.8	393 of 776	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.5	329 of 675	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.4	276 of 792	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.0	285 of 838	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2017	51.3	337 of 821	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2016	51.5	416 of 894	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	55.0	393 of 919	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2014	53.4	449 of 921	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2013	62.3	315 of 919	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	61.9	319 of 900	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	53.0	532 of 858	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	66.3	360 of 851	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	68.5	308 of 847	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	64.8	347 of 839	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2007	58.7	439 of 823	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	62.3	364 of 806	54.8%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	59.1	269 of 789	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.7	351 of 789	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.4	439 of 771	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.8	453 of 770	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.9	426 of 657	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.4	331 of 521	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	54.6	270 of 658	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.5	274 of 794	65.5%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	26.8	192 of 260	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	59.0	92 of 265	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	24.9	202 of 257	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	46.2	127 of 246	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.8	74 of 138	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.0	191 of 266	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	59.9	268 of 834	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	44.3	440 of 832	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.9	486 of 836	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	48.0	389 of 825	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.7	402 of 691	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	34.5	365 of 523	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.4	280 of 672	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	67.7	205 of 815	74.8%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	38.8	465 of 813	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.1	515 of 798	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.5	499 of 786	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.3	363 of 776	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.5	324 of 658	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	44.0	267 of 540	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.9	235 of 639	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.8	261 of 797	67.3%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	23.1	202 of 236	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.0	214 of 377	43.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	43.9	374 of 687	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	32.1	474 of 696	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.5	483 of 701	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.0	415 of 688	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.6	395 of 638	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.5	302 of 577	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	51.7	272 of 624	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.0	304 of 678	55.2%	★★★☆☆

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 (2026)68th percentile+10 vs school

Female (2026)66th percentile+8 vs school

White (2026)46th percentile-12 vs school

Male (2026)43rd percentile-15 vs school

Hispanic (2026)26th percentile-32 vs school

Special Education (2026)14th percentile-44 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies50%~ state avg

Science42%+3 vs state

English Language Arts37%~ state avg

Mathematics26%-7 vs state

Math26%-7 vs state

★

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Schools Near Donald L Pavlik Middle School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)	PSAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)				M-Step Math (2026)				M-Step Science (2026)		M-Step Social Studies (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Donald L Pavlik Middle School	Public	6-8	1700 Pine Ave	Alma	48801	Gratiot County	Alma Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 463-3111	457	25	18.1	73.5%	381 (83.4%)	1 (0.2%)	56 (12.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	15 (3.3%)	53.3	377^th of 896 public middle schools	57.9%		45.5	469^th of 890 public middle schools	47.3%	92	72.5	26.2			40.9	33.1			30.8	20.8		42.3		49.7	$12,873	$764	$12,109
TS Nurnberger Middle School	Public	6-8	312 Union St	Saint Louis	48880	Gratiot County	St. Louis Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 681-5155	217	15	14.4	71.9%	177 (81.6%)	3 (1.4%)	32 (14.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.3%)	24.6	655^th of 896 public middle schools	26.9%		38.4	535^th of 890 public middle schools	39.9%	120	57.4	20.4			19.0	23.0			13.9	18.0		24.1		29.6	$16,547	$1,444	$15,104
Shepherd Middle School	Public	6-8	350 S Chippewa St	Shepherd	48883	Isabella County	Shepherd Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 828-6003	390	23	17.2	49.0%	329 (84.4%)	12 (3.1%)	22 (5.6%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (4.9%)	4 (1.0%)	3 (0.8%)	64.8	260^th of 896 public middle schools	71.0%		65.8	249^th of 890 public middle schools	72.0%	11	66.1	38.1			36.4	41.2			35.6	43.0		43.2		55.1	$13,171	$837	$12,334
Fulton Middle School	Public	6-8	8060 Ely Hwy	Middleton	48856	Gratiot County	Fulton Schools	No	No	No	No	(989) 236-7232	119	7	16.6	51.3%	102 (85.7%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (11.8%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	58.9	309^th of 896 public middle schools	65.5%		48.7	425^th of 890 public middle schools	52.2%	116	58.5	41.5			37.5	36.7			41.0	30.0		43.9		46.3	$14,049	$782	$13,267
Mt Pleasant Middle School	Public	6-8	440 S Bradley St	Mount Pleasant	48858	Isabella County	Mt. Pleasant City School District	No	No	No	No	(989) 775-2221	666	48	13.9	44.4%	487 (73.1%)	15 (2.3%)	50 (7.5%)	10 (1.5%)	52 (7.8%)	2 (0.3%)	50 (7.5%)	56.4	341^st of 896 public middle schools	61.9%		54.7	352^nd of 890 public middle schools	60.4%	11	70.2	37.0			35.9	30.5			29.7	24.2		46.9		54.5	$16,786	$1,051	$15,736
Merrill Middle School	Public	6-8	755 W Alice St	Merrill	48637	Saginaw County	Merrill Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 643-7231	97	8	12.1	52.6%	95 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	35.4	562^nd of 896 public middle schools	37.3%		36.7	547^th of 890 public middle schools	38.5%	15	58.5	7.3			29.4	23.1			22.2	34.6		29.3		42.5	$18,388	$1,637	$16,751
Ashley Middle School	Public	5-8	104 N New St	Ashley	48806	Gratiot County	Ashley Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 847-4000	54	5	10.9	77.8%	45 (83.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (7.4%)								(n/a)				1478.2	20.0			25.0	1571.4		33.3		1474.2		$15,855	$1,899	$13,956
Carson CityCrystal Upper ElementaryMiddle School	Public	4-8	213 E Sherman St	Carson City	48811	Montcalm County	Carson City-Crystal Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 584-3138	262	15	17.8	54.2%	248 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	36	559^th of 896 public middle schools	37.6%		35.1	557^th of 890 public middle schools	37.4%	2	45.1	13.7	40.3	31.6	34.8	31.4	44.8	19.3	28.3	27.5	24.6	25.5	14.3	43.1	$13,782	$1,520	$12,262

Frequently Asked Questions about Donald L Pavlik Middle School

What district is Donald L Pavlik Middle School in?

Alma Public Schools

What high school do graduates of Donald L Pavlik Middle School attend?

Students who attend Donald L Pavlik Middle School usually go on to attend Alma Senior High School

What is the racial makeup of Donald L Pavlik Middle School?

Students at Donald L Pavlik Middle School are 83% White, 12% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

How many students attend Donald L Pavlik Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 457 students attended Donald L Pavlik Middle School.

Is Donald L Pavlik Middle School a good school?

Donald L Pavlik Middle School ranks 377^th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Donald L Pavlik Middle School!

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2025–26 M-Step, PSAT & SAT test scoresSep 4, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 6, 2026

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.