Avondale High School

Avondale High School in Auburn Hills, MI, serves 911 students in grades 9-12 and is part of the Avondale School District, which sits in a competitive Oakland County area between high-performing Troy and the Pontiac community.

Avondale’s standout feature is its graduation rate of 90.9%, which far exceeds both its district average (70.4%) and the state average (84.0%), while its dropout rate is just 3.7%. This is a stark contrast to nearby Pontiac High School, which graduates only 66.3% of students and has a 31.4% dropout rate. The school also shows strong support for English Language Learners, who rank in the 87th percentile statewide with a 4-star rating. Additionally, chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically, dropping from a peak of 51.6% in 2021-2022 to 22.4% in 2024-2025—now better than the state average of 27.9%. However, the school’s overall academic performance sits in the mid-range (43rd percentile), and its SAT reading/writing proficiency of 43.4% is more than four times higher than Pontiac High’s 9.6%, yet its SAT math proficiency of 19% lags far behind Troy High School’s 73.8%.

The most significant challenge is the achievement gap for students from low socio-economic backgrounds, who have consistently ranked in the bottom quarter statewide (22nd percentile) and received a 1-star rating for three consecutive years. This is particularly notable given that nearly 40% of Avondale students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Historically, Avondale was a much higher-performing school, ranking in the 86th percentile in 2016-2017, but it has declined to its current mid-pack status since 2018-2019. With per-student spending of $15,627—moderate compared to Pontiac High’s $29,768 but slightly less than Troy High’s $16,038—the school achieves solid retention and graduation outcomes, yet faces clear room for improvement in closing the socioeconomic achievement gap.