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Riverside Middle School

Public Grades 6-8
889th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 890 Michigan Middle Schools
Better than 0% of Michigan middle schools
Summary

Riverside Middle School is a public middle school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving 244 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Grand Rapids Public Schools district, which is ranked 462 out of 613 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Riverside Middle School consistently ranks among the lowest-performing middle schools in Michigan, with academic proficiency rates significantly below the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 4.55% of 6th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 38.6% at the state level and 24.8% in the Grand Rapids Public Schools district. The school also has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 29.5% to 66.9% over the past few years, which are much higher than the state and district averages.

Interestingly, Riverside Middle School's academic performance and other key metrics are significantly worse than the nearby John Ball Park Zoo School, Blandford School, and Grand Rapids Public Museum Middle, which are also part of the Grand Rapids Public Schools district. These nearby schools have much higher academic proficiency rates, lower chronic absenteeism, and lower percentages of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. Addressing the unique challenges faced by Riverside Middle School and implementing targeted interventions could be crucial in improving the school's performance and providing a better educational experience for its students.

227
Students ?
11.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,454
Per pupil spending ?
91.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 265 Eleanor St NE
       Grand Rapids, MI  49505-4069

(616) 819-2969

District: Grand Rapids Public Schools


Students who attend Riverside Middle School usually attend:

High:    City High Middle School
    Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy
    Innovation Central High
    Union High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
61.2%
Hispanic:
16.7%
White:
11.5%
more
 See top rated Michigan middle schools

 Compare Riverside Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 8th percentile in 2014 → <1st in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Michigan average (8% vs 48% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (<1st percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (68% vs 28% Michigan)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school8%
District avg31%
Michigan avg48%
889th of 890
Michigan public middle schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 11 pts since 2015
From bottom 12% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 5Middle Schools in the Grand Rapids Public Schools
462nd of 613Grand Rapids 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
20253.0889 of 8900.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20244.6887 of 8971.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.9782 of 88311.4%★☆☆☆☆
20228.8737 of 7765.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.3770 of 7922.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.5741 of 83811.6%★☆☆☆☆
20178.1774 of 8215.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201611.6785 of 89412.2%★☆☆☆☆
201511.5813 of 91911.5%★☆☆☆☆
20149.3850 of 9217.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20138.5867 of 9195.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20129.7845 of 9006.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20116.1820 of 8584.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20109.2803 of 8515.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20095.9810 of 8474.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20089.1784 of 8396.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20078.5774 of 8236.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20069.0760 of 8065.7%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202323.3241 of 31022.3%★☆☆☆☆
201832.8234 of 36636.1%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201844.769 of 15455.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
20243.4771 of 7710.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.0695 of 7709.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.0686 of 79413.6%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201822.1226 of 26615.0%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
20244.8830 of 8360.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.7733 of 82511.2%★☆☆☆☆
202212.7645 of 6916.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.4650 of 6723.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201820.6676 of 81517.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
20253.0798 of 7980.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.4706 of 7769.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.7628 of 6584.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.1673 of 79715.6%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201822.6122 of 15621.8%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201820.3351 of 3776.9%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202325.6534 of 68822.4%★☆☆☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2018)55th percentile+44 vs school
White (2023)22nd percentile+11 vs school
African American (2023)22nd percentile+11 vs school
Multi-racial (2018)22nd percentile+10 vs school
Hispanic (2018)15th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2018)7th percentile-5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2024)1st percentile~ school
Female (2024)<1st percentile~ school
Male (2025)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts13%-52 vs state
Science7%-34 vs state
Social Studies7%-40 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Riverside Middle School

Students who attend Riverside Middle School usually go on to attend City High Middle School

In the 2024-25 school year, 227 students attended Riverside Middle School.

Riverside Middle School ranks in the bottom 0.1% of Michigan middle schools.

Students at Riverside Middle School are 61% African American, 17% Hispanic, 11% White, 10% Two or more races.


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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.





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