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Northern Hills Middle School

Public Grades 7-8

17^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 890 Michigan Middle Schools

Better than 98% of Michigan middle schools

Summary

Northern Hills Middle School is a high-performing public middle school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving 534 students in grades 7-8 and part of the Forest Hills Public Schools district, which is ranked 11th out of 613 districts in the state.

Northern Hills Middle School consistently outperforms the state and district averages in academic proficiency across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, 66.9% of 7th-grade students were proficient or better in M-Step/English Language Arts, compared to 69.7% for the Forest Hills Public Schools district and 39.2% for the state of Michigan. The school also excels in the performance of various student subgroups, ranking highly in the state for female, Asian, Hispanic, white, multi-racial, and special education students.

When compared to nearby middle schools within the Forest Hills Public Schools district, Central Middle School and Eastern Middle School also rank among the top middle schools in the state. However, the performance gap is significant when comparing Northern Hills Middle School to schools in the nearby Grand Rapids Public Schools district, with proficiency rates in M-Step/English Language Arts and M-Step/Math for 7th-grade students at Northern Hills Middle School more than 40 percentage points higher than the rates at Grand Rapids Public Museum Middle School.

515

Students ?

18.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,280

Per pupil spending ?

15.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3775 Leonard St NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49525-3369

(616) 493-8650

District: Forest Hills Public Schools

Students who attend Northern Hills Middle School usually attend:

High:

Northern High School

Feeder schools for Northern Hills Middle School:

Elementary:	Collins Elementary School
	Meadow Brook Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

67.0%

Hispanic:

10.1%

Asian:

9.9%

See top rated Michigan middle schools

Compare Northern Hills Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 98th percentile in 2015 → 98th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Michigan average (74% vs 43% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 2% of Michigan middle schools

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school74%

District avg75%

Michigan avg43%

17^th of 890

Michigan public middle schools ?

Top 2%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 3Middle Schools in the Forest Hills Public Schools

11^th of 613Forest Hills 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
2025	96.8	17 of 890	98.1%	★★★★★
2024	96.7	21 of 897	97.7%	★★★★★
2023	96.5	20 of 883	97.7%	★★★★★
2022	95.4	26 of 776	96.6%	★★★★★
2021	95.4	27 of 675	96.0%	★★★★★
2019	95.6	21 of 792	97.3%	★★★★★
2018	96.0	27 of 838	96.8%	★★★★★
2017	95.2	26 of 821	96.8%	★★★★★
2016	96.5	20 of 894	97.8%	★★★★★
2015	96.8	20 of 919	97.8%	★★★★★
2014	94.2	26 of 921	97.2%	★★★★★
2013	96.2	14 of 919	98.5%	★★★★★
2012	97.1	11 of 900	98.8%	★★★★★
2011	89.6	10 of 858	98.8%	★★★★★
2010	87.6	14 of 851	98.4%	★★★★★
2009	89.6	11 of 847	98.7%	★★★★★
2008	89.7	13 of 839	98.5%	★★★★★
2007	92.3	6 of 823	99.3%	★★★★★
2006	90.1	16 of 806	98.0%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	81.1	36 of 338	89.3%	★★★★☆
2024	69.5	51 of 300	83.0%	★★★★☆
2023	81.6	36 of 310	88.4%	★★★★☆
2022	97.4	1 of 182	99.5%	★★★★★
2019	71.4	40 of 196	79.6%	★★★★☆
2018	71.1	79 of 366	78.4%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	85.8	7 of 85	91.8%	★★★★★
2024	83.2	9 of 88	89.8%	★★★★★
2023	76.1	24 of 87	72.4%	★★★★☆
2022	73.0	17 of 57	70.2%	★★★★☆
2018	79.5	19 of 104	81.7%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	96.0	16 of 789	98.0%	★★★★★
2024	96.8	11 of 771	98.6%	★★★★★
2023	95.0	20 of 770	97.4%	★★★★★
2022	94.4	20 of 657	97.0%	★★★★★
2021	95.0	19 of 521	96.4%	★★★★★
2019	94.1	21 of 658	96.8%	★★★★★
2018	95.3	17 of 794	97.9%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	94.8	8 of 265	97.0%	★★★★★
2024	98.8	2 of 257	99.2%	★★★★★
2023	91.9	7 of 246	97.2%	★★★★★
2018	96.3	3 of 266	98.9%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	93.9	22 of 832	97.4%	★★★★★
2024	95.9	10 of 836	98.8%	★★★★★
2023	93.8	16 of 825	98.1%	★★★★★
2022	96.8	6 of 691	99.1%	★★★★★
2021	90.4	23 of 523	95.6%	★★★★★
2019	78.4	74 of 672	89.0%	★★★★☆
2018	78.5	95 of 815	88.3%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	96.5	20 of 798	97.5%	★★★★★
2024	94.9	25 of 786	96.8%	★★★★★
2023	95.5	22 of 776	97.2%	★★★★★
2022	94.5	28 of 658	95.7%	★★★★★
2021	93.2	29 of 540	94.6%	★★★★★
2019	95.1	24 of 639	96.2%	★★★★★
2018	95.1	33 of 797	95.9%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	97.5	1 of 190	99.5%	★★★★★
2024	96.1	3 of 176	98.3%	★★★★★
2023	80.1	22 of 163	86.5%	★★★★☆
2021	90.6	1 of 15	93.3%	★★★★★
2018	96.4	5 of 156	96.8%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	90.5	8 of 244	96.7%	★★★★★
2024	99.1	2 of 201	99.0%	★★★★★
2023	97.5	2 of 199	99.0%	★★★★★
2022	90.5	1 of 70	98.6%	★★★★★
2021	86.7	2 of 19	89.5%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	95.7	18 of 696	97.4%	★★★★★
2024	95.0	21 of 701	97.0%	★★★★★
2023	95.4	14 of 688	98.0%	★★★★★
2022	94.8	18 of 638	97.2%	★★★★★
2021	94.4	15 of 577	97.4%	★★★★★
2019	95.4	18 of 624	97.1%	★★★★★
2018	92.7	36 of 678	94.7%	★★★★★

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)

Multi-racial (2025)99th percentile~ school

Female (2025)98th percentile~ school

Male (2025)97th percentile~ school

White (2025)97th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)97th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)97th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)97th percentile~ school

Asian (2025)92nd percentile-6 vs school

African American (2025)89th percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies74%+28 vs state

Science72%+31 vs state

Mathematics70%+39 vs state

English Language Arts67%+28 vs state

Math65%+32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Northern Hills Middle School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSAT English Language Arts (2025)	PSAT Mathematics (2025)	M-Step English Language Arts (2025)			M-Step Math (2025)			M-Step Science (2025)		M-Step Social Studies (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Northern Hills Middle School	Public	7-8	3775 Leonard St NE	Grand Rapids	49525	Kent County	Forest Hills Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 493-8650	515	29	18.0	15.3%	345 (67.0%)	33 (6.4%)	52 (10.1%)	51 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (6.6%)	96.8	17^th of 890 public middle schools	98.1%		96.7	21^st of 897 public middle schools	97.7%	4	93.7	69.8			66.9			65.4		72.3		74.5	$14,280	$614	$13,665
Northern Trails 56 School	Public	5-6	3777 Leonard St NE	Grand Rapids	49525	Kent County	Forest Hills Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 493-8990	520	29	17.7	17.7%	346 (66.5%)	28 (5.4%)	60 (11.5%)	47 (9.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (7.3%)								(n/a)			72.1	70.0		57.9	58.2		63.8		54.9		$13,965	$2,078	$11,887
Eastern Middle School	Public	6-8	2200 Pettis Ave NE	Ada	49301	Kent County	Forest Hills Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 493-8850	528	29	18.1	13.3%	422 (79.9%)	6 (1.1%)	21 (4.0%)	55 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.5%)	94.3	45^th of 890 public middle schools	94.9%		93.9	39^th of 897 public middle schools	95.7%	6	84.3	61.1		66.7	67.6		63.6	66.5		60.9		69.0	$13,360	$587	$12,772
East Grand Rapids Middle School	Public	6-8	2425 Lake Dr SE	Grand Rapids	49506	Kent County	East Grand Rapids Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 235-7551	710	37	19.3	7.7%	580 (81.7%)	10 (1.4%)	42 (5.9%)	12 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (9.3%)	96.4	24^th of 890 public middle schools	97.3%		97.5	11^th of 897 public middle schools	98.8%	13	93.8	68.4		64.4	62.0		65.5	57.1		77.4		84.5	$13,149	$342	$12,807
Central Woodlands 56 School	Public	5-6	400 Alta Dale Ave SE	Ada	49301	Kent County	Forest Hills Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 493-8790	462	25	18.1	10.2%	380 (82.3%)	8 (1.7%)	20 (4.3%)	28 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (5.4%)								(n/a)			70.7	72.5		66.1	63.3		71.6		62.1		$13,936	$1,423	$12,512
Highlands School	Public	5-6	4645 Chandy Dr NE	Grand Rapids	49525	Kent County	Northview Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 361-3440	445	28	15.6	35.3%	308 (69.2%)	36 (8.1%)	46 (10.3%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (11.2%)								(n/a)			50.0	40.9		38.5	46.0		49.1		38.5		$15,341	$1,347	$13,993
Central Middle School	Public	7-8	5810 Ada Dr SE	Ada	49301	Kent County	Forest Hills Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 493-8750	488	25	19.5	12.3%	407 (83.4%)	9 (1.8%)	23 (4.7%)	29 (5.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.9%)	98.4	3^rd of 890 public middle schools	99.7%		97.4	14^th of 897 public middle schools	98.4%	11	92.8	81.2			74.4			70.6		81.2		82.4	$13,964	$656	$13,308
Center for Economicology	Public	6	1720 Plainfield Ave NE	Grand Rapids	49505	Kent County	Grand Rapids Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 819-2380	60	2	25.5	40.0%	29 (48.3%)	7 (11.7%)	20 (33.3%)	3 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.7%)								(n/a)				67.8			59.3						$15,694	$5,087	$10,607
Riverside Middle School	Public	6-8	265 Eleanor St NE	Grand Rapids	49505	Kent County	Grand Rapids Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 819-2969	227	20	11.3	91.2%	26 (11.5%)	139 (61.2%)	38 (16.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (10.1%)	3	889^th of 890 public middle schools	0.1%		4.6	887^th of 897 public middle schools	1.1%	2	13.0			4.6						7.2		7.2	$22,454	$6,629	$15,825
Crossroads Middle School	Public	7-8	4400 Ambrose Ave NE	Grand Rapids	49525	Kent County	Northview Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 361-3430	472	27	17.5	33.5%	320 (67.8%)	39 (8.3%)	56 (11.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (11.9%)	76.6	160^th of 890 public middle schools	82.0%		62	267^th of 897 public middle schools	70.2%	107	78.5	32.6			52.0			36.5		59.5		63.2	$15,376	$1,130	$14,246

Frequently Asked Questions about Northern Hills Middle School

Is Northern Hills Middle School a good school?

Yes! Northern Hills Middle School is one of the best middle schools in the state. It ranks 17^th of 890 Michigan middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Northern Hills Middle School?

Students at Northern Hills Middle School are 67% White, 10% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 7% Two or more races, 6% African American.

What high school do graduates of Northern Hills Middle School attend?

Students who attend Northern Hills Middle School usually go on to attend Northern High School

What district is Northern Hills Middle School in?

Forest Hills Public Schools

How many students attend Northern Hills Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 515 students attended Northern Hills Middle School.

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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.