Mill Creek Middle School

Mill Creek Middle School in Dexter, MI, serves 525 students in grades 7 and 8 as part of the Dexter Community School District, and it has earned a 5-star rating every year for the past decade, consistently ranking among the top middle schools in Michigan.

What truly sets Mill Creek apart is its remarkable success with student groups that often struggle elsewhere. In the 2025-2026 school year, the school ranked in the 98th percentile statewide for the academic performance of its low-income students—a standout achievement when compared to similarly ranked schools like Scranton Middle School in Brighton or Saline Middle School, which do not show comparable results with this demographic. Mill Creek also showed a dramatic leap in supporting its special education students, jumping from the low 60s to the 88th percentile in just two years. Additionally, the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 14.5% is less than half that of several high-achieving Ann Arbor peers—Clague Middle School sits at 30.9%, while Slauson Middle School and Forsythe Middle School are near 30% as well—suggesting a stronger culture of daily attendance that underpins its consistent success.

Parents should note a few interesting nuances. While 90% of 8th graders were proficient on the PSAT English Language Arts exam, only 64.3% reached proficiency in PSAT math, and M-Step science proficiency (70%) lagged behind social studies (81.4%)—pointing to reading and writing as particular strengths. The school also showed remarkable resilience after a pandemic-era dip, bouncing back from the 91st percentile in 2020-2021 to its current 97th percentile ranking. Finally, Mill Creek's per-student spending of $17,536 is notably lower than some Ann Arbor schools that achieve similar or worse results—Scarlett Middle School spends $21,118 per student yet ranks in the 51st percentile—demonstrating that Mill Creek uses its resources efficiently to generate outstanding outcomes for all its students.