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Dowagiac Middle School

Q: Is Dowagiac Middle School a good school?

Dowagiac Middle School ranks 569 th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Q: How many students attend Dowagiac Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 393 students attended Dowagiac Middle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Dowagiac Middle School?

Students at Dowagiac Middle School are 56% White, 21% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races, 7% African American, 2% American Indian.

Q: What high school do graduates of Dowagiac Middle School attend?

Students who attend Dowagiac Middle School usually go on to attend Union High School

Public Grades 6-8

569^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 896 Michigan Middle Schools

Better than 36% of Michigan middle schools

Summary

Dowagiac Middle School in Dowagiac, MI, serves 393 students in grades 6-8 and is part of the Dowagiac Union School District, a district that has faced notable challenges in a community where over 70% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

One of the most pressing concerns for parents to know is the school's chronic absenteeism rate, which reached 30.2% in the 2024-2025 school year. This is higher than nearby Watervliet Middle School (21.0%) and Berrien Springs Middle School (25.3%), though slightly better than Cassopolis Middle School (35.7%). Academic performance has also been volatile, with the school's overall ranking dropping from the 50th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 36th percentile in 2025-2026. For example, 7th-grade ELA proficiency fell from 37.6% to 27.2%, and math proficiency dropped from 26.3% to 17.6% in the same period. Despite these struggles, there are bright spots: 8th graders scored at or above state averages on the Social Studies M-Step (50% proficient) and PSAT ELA (65.5%) in 2024-2025, and the school was notably effective for its African American students, ranking in the 67th percentile statewide that year.

Parents should also note that Dowagiac spends over $14,000 per student—more than higher-performing neighbors like Edwardsburg Middle School ($13,058) and Marcellus Middle School ($11,793)—yet its proficiency rates lag significantly behind Edwardsburg, which serves a much lower percentage of students in poverty (36.9% vs. 70.7%). This suggests the challenge isn't funding but rather overcoming the deep-seated barriers of poverty and attendance. While the school faces real headwinds, its pockets of success—particularly in specific subjects and for certain student groups—show that improvement is possible with the right focus on engagement and instructional support.

393

Students ?

18.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,312

Per pupil spending ?

70.7%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

57072 Riverside Dr
Dowagiac, MI 49047-3108

(269) 782-4440

District: Dowagiac Union School District

Students who attend Dowagiac Middle School usually attend:

High:

Union High School

Feeder schools for Dowagiac Middle School:

Elementary:	Justus Gage Elementary School
	Kincheloe Elementary School
	Patrick Hamilton Elementary
	Sister Lakes Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

56.5%

Hispanic:

21.1%

Two or more races:

12.7%

See top rated Michigan middle schools

Compare Dowagiac Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 28th percentile in 2016 → 36th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 8 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (30% vs 41% meeting standards)

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

!Math scores 14 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school30%

District avg30%

Michigan avg41%

569^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 36%▲ up 8 pts since 2016

From bottom 28% (2016) to bottom 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

375^th of 625Dowagiac Union School District 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	34.7	569 of 896	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.2	443 of 890	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.3	479 of 897	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.2	597 of 883	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.0	580 of 776	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	596 of 675	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.1	653 of 792	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.6	642 of 838	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	18.3	677 of 821	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	28.7	641 of 894	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	36.2	603 of 919	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	44.6	558 of 921	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2013	49.2	482 of 919	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	51.8	445 of 900	50.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	53.7	520 of 858	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	40.9	644 of 851	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	38.5	641 of 847	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	46.9	575 of 839	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	35.0	653 of 823	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	43.1	594 of 806	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	56.7	111 of 338	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.1	139 of 366	62.0%	★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	35.3	92 of 154	40.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	29.2	558 of 789	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	31.3	542 of 789	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	445 of 771	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.3	547 of 770	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.7	532 of 657	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.0	467 of 521	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.7	556 of 658	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.2	573 of 794	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	21.9	220 of 260	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.9	216 of 265	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.9	208 of 257	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.2	207 of 246	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.2	103 of 138	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.4	61 of 69	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.1	218 of 266	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	35.4	533 of 834	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	49.3	392 of 832	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.6	381 of 836	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	27.5	618 of 825	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.9	457 of 691	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.1	441 of 523	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.4	583 of 672	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.3	592 of 815	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	32.6	529 of 813	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	53.4	329 of 798	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.0	468 of 786	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.2	572 of 776	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	543 of 658	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.2	508 of 540	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.4	568 of 639	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.2	604 of 797	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Migrant

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	84.1	1 of 1	0.0%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	19.9	167 of 195	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	36.3	123 of 190	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.9	141 of 176	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	149 of 163	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.4	55 of 65	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.4	13 of 15	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.7	47 of 51	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.3	129 of 156	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	27.2	189 of 236	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	35.7	148 of 244	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.3	117 of 201	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	19.7	180 of 199	9.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.9	323 of 377	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	30.6	487 of 687	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	50.8	311 of 696	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.3	371 of 701	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.4	483 of 688	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	24.6	500 of 638	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.0	506 of 577	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.6	557 of 624	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.5	585 of 678	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)67th percentile+17 vs school

English Language Learner (2018)40th percentile+17 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)36th percentile~ school

Male (2026)35th percentile~ school

Female (2026)29th percentile-7 vs school

White (2026)29th percentile-7 vs school

Special Education (2026)20th percentile-17 vs school

Hispanic (2026)15th percentile-21 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)14th percentile-22 vs school

Migrant (2018)<1st percentile-23 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies43%-7 vs state

Science34%-5 vs state

English Language Arts29%-9 vs state

Mathematics22%-12 vs state

Math19%-14 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Dowagiac 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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th 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
Dowagiac Middle School	Public	6-8	57072 Riverside Dr	Dowagiac	49047	Cass County	Dowagiac Union School District	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 782-4440	393	21	18.5	70.7%	222 (56.5%)	29 (7.4%)	83 (21.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (12.7%)	34.7	569^th of 896 public middle schools	36.5%		47.2	443^rd of 890 public middle schools	50.2%	126	55.0	21.7		29.9	27.2		19.5	17.6		33.9		43.0	$14,312	$1,227	$13,085
Cassopolis Middle School	Public	6-8	725 Center St	Cassopolis	49031	Cass County	Cassopolis Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 445-0506	188	13	14.1	62.2%	115 (61.2%)	15 (8.0%)	13 (6.9%)	4 (2.1%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (20.7%)	22.1	678^th of 896 public middle schools	24.3%		23.5	656^th of 890 public middle schools	26.3%	22	54.5	15.2		19.4	11.7		12.9	6.7		30.3		33.3	$14,973	$1,974	$12,999
Eau Claire Middle School	Public	6-8	7450 Hochberger Rd	Eau Claire	49111	Berrien County	Eau Claire Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 461-6997	139	10	13.9	91.4%	28 (20.1%)	39 (28.1%)	68 (48.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.9%)	16.2	746^th of 896 public middle schools	16.7%		14.2	764^th of 890 public middle schools	14.2%	18	35.6	343.6		15.8	13.2		1565.9	18.4		22.2		26.7	$14,119	$1,406	$12,713
Ring Lardner Middle School	Public	6-8	801 N 17th St	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Niles Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 683-6610	510	29	17.4	59.8%	333 (65.3%)	58 (11.4%)	55 (10.8%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (11.6%)	56.7	338^th of 896 public middle schools	62.3%		56.4	338^th of 890 public middle schools	62.0%		68.7	38.1		39.2	37.4		28.8	33.0		42.6		40.8	$14,765	$1,195	$13,569
Edwardsburg Middle School	Public	6-8	69230 Section St	Edwardsburg	49112	Cass County	Edwardsburg Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 663-1031	612	32	19.3	36.9%	552 (90.2%)	3 (0.5%)	30 (4.9%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.3%)	84	114^th of 896 public middle schools	87.3%		87.5	89^th of 890 public middle schools	90.0%	25	83.9	53.3		52.9	50.0		47.7	42.4		52.5		67.0	$13,058	$538	$12,521
Berrien Springs Middle School	Public	6-8	502 Middle School Drive	Berrien Springs	49103	Berrien County	Berrien Springs Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 471-2796	424	27	15.6	58.5%	163 (38.4%)	136 (32.1%)	67 (15.8%)	18 (4.2%)	3 (0.7%)	4 (0.9%)	33 (7.8%)	61.5	281^st of 896 public middle schools	68.6%		55.7	342^nd of 890 public middle schools	61.6%	61	62.8	38.5		38.5	40.5		30.7	37.4		42.9		55.1	$15,753	$874	$14,879
Brandywine Middle School	Public	7-8	1700 Bell Rd	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Brandywine Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 683-4800	183	11	16.9	62.3%	144 (78.7%)	8 (4.4%)	9 (4.9%)	1 (0.5%)	3 (1.6%)	1 (0.5%)	17 (9.3%)	45.5	459^th of 896 public middle schools	48.8%		40.4	523^rd of 890 public middle schools	41.2%	64	68.2	23.5			26.5			14.3		40.0		56.5	$13,822	$946	$12,876
Marcellus Middle School	Public	6-8	125 Burney St	Marcellus	49067	Cass County	Marcellus Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 646-3158	136	6	23.4	58.1%	118 (86.8%)	1 (0.7%)	6 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (8.1%)	50.1	412^th of 896 public middle schools	54.0%		73	189^th of 890 public middle schools	78.8%	223	56.9	32.8		26.5	50.0		24.5	36.1		39.7		43.1	$11,793	$1,089	$10,705
Buchanan Middle School	Public	5-7	610 W 4th St	Buchanan	49107	Berrien County	Buchanan Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 695-8406	358	18	19.4	62.3%	311 (86.9%)	8 (2.2%)	13 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.7%)	58.4	317^th of 896 public middle schools	64.6%		67.2	237^th of 890 public middle schools	73.4%	80			55.2	34.1	45.2	32.8	32.6	35.7	44.8		35.2		$11,749	$344	$11,405
Watervliet Middle School	Public	6-8	450 E Saint Joseph St	Watervliet	49098	Berrien County	Watervliet School District	No	No	No	No	(269) 463-0780	309	19	16.1	64.7%	216 (69.9%)	4 (1.3%)	69 (22.3%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.9%)	47.3	439^th of 896 public middle schools	51.0%		53	374^th of 890 public middle schools	58.0%	65	63.0	26.9		36.6	41.0		18.8	31.4		33.3		41.7	$15,086	$1,153	$13,934

Frequently Asked Questions about Dowagiac Middle School

How many students attend Dowagiac Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 393 students attended Dowagiac Middle School.

What high school do graduates of Dowagiac Middle School attend?

Students who attend Dowagiac Middle School usually go on to attend Union High School

What district is Dowagiac Middle School in?

Dowagiac Union School District

Is Dowagiac Middle School a good school?

Dowagiac Middle School ranks 569^th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Dowagiac Middle School?

Students at Dowagiac Middle School are 56% White, 21% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races, 7% African American, 2% American Indian.

Rate Dowagiac 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.