Escanaba JuniorSenior High School

Escanaba JuniorSenior High School is a large public school in Escanaba, MI, serving 1,089 students in grades 6 through 12 as the sole traditional secondary school within the Escanaba Area Public Schools district.

This school stands out for its exceptional results in science and social studies. On the 11th-grade M-Step exams, 62.3% of students were proficient in science and 63.1% in social studies—dramatically higher than state averages of 35.2% and 43.2%, and well above nearby Gladstone Area High School (27.2% and 48.2%) and Bark RiverHarris JrSr High School (40.7% and 50%). The school also excels at keeping students on track: its 93.6% graduation rate far exceeds the state average of 84.0%, and its dropout rate of 1.9% is a fraction of the state's 7.1%. Notably, the school is highly effective with its economically disadvantaged students—nearly half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch—and this subgroup has consistently ranked in the 84th to 88th percentile statewide over the past three years.

However, there is a clear split in academic strengths. While 67.2% of 11th graders were proficient in Evidence-Based Reading and Writing on the SAT, only 21.3% were proficient in math—below the state average of 26.5%. This gap between verbal and math performance is more pronounced here than at peer schools. On a positive note, the school has shown remarkable recovery from pandemic-era disruptions, reducing chronic absenteeism from a spike of 36.3% in 2021-2022 down to 16.7%—well below the state's 27.9%. The school also operates efficiently, spending $12,752 per student, less than both Gladstone ($13,042) and Bark River-Harris ($13,721) while achieving stronger outcomes. Its unique 6-12 configuration provides a stable, continuous educational pathway that appears to benefit students academically and socially.