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Jefferson School

Q: Is Jefferson School a good school?

Jefferson School ranks 980 th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

980^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,488 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 34% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Jefferson School is an elementary school located in Ionia, Michigan, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 284 students. It is part of the Ionia Public Schools district, which is ranked 375 out of 613 districts in Michigan and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Over the past 10 years, Jefferson School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Michigan elementary schools, with a ranking between 815 and 1134 and a 1-2 star rating. The school faces several significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 26.5% to 32.8%, which are significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school's test scores on the M-Step assessments are generally below the Ionia Public Schools district and the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 40.9% of 3rd graders, 41% of 4th graders, and 30.2% of 5th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 38.9%, 42.4%, and 44.4%, respectively.

When comparing Jefferson School to the other nearby elementary schools in the Ionia Public Schools district, it becomes clear that AA Rather School, which is only about 2.5 miles away, consistently outperforms Jefferson School on test scores, chronic absenteeism, and other key indicators. However, one bright spot for Jefferson School is its performance in serving special education students, as it ranked 92 out of 403 Michigan elementary schools for special education in the 2017-2018 school year, with a 4-star rating.

272

Students ?

18.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,866

Per pupil spending ?

68.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

420 N Jefferson St
Ionia, MI 48846-1328

(616) 527-2740

District: Ionia Public Schools

Students who attend Jefferson School usually attend:

Middle:	Ionia Middle School
High:	Ionia High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

75.7%

Hispanic:

18.8%

Two or more races:

4.8%

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Compare Jefferson School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 12th percentile in 2021 → 34th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 34th (2025) from a 12th-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (29% vs 39% meeting standards)

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

!Science scores 15 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

District avg33%

Michigan avg39%

980^th of 1,488

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 34%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 39% (2015) to bottom 34% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 5Elementary Schools in the Ionia Public Schools

375^th of 613Ionia 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	32.0	980 of 1488	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.8	1071 of 1486	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	1134 of 1470	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.8	1018 of 1344	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.6	1009 of 1153	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.9	930 of 1408	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.1	815 of 1448	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2017	41.5	841 of 1466	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2016	36.5	1011 of 1548	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	42.2	969 of 1580	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	54.5	747 of 1533	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2013	34.7	1117 of 1563	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	37.6	1093 of 1566	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	47.5	1046 of 1552	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2010	53.0	1002 of 1552	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2009	53.0	973 of 1589	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	56.7	859 of 1577	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	77.7	254 of 1565	83.8%	★★★★☆
2006	61.0	695 of 1545	55.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	33.5	870 of 1338	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.2	965 of 1342	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.1	1031 of 1321	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.0	870 of 1106	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.5	669 of 1171	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	46.2	827 of 1443	42.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	46.9	677 of 1346	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.5	1005 of 1381	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.9	996 of 1350	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.0	779 of 1099	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.3	624 of 749	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.6	507 of 1134	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.6	716 of 1397	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	26.1	993 of 1366	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.2	1000 of 1347	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.1	1040 of 1334	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.2	826 of 1139	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.9	821 of 1196	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.5	776 of 1446	46.3%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2024	51.5	96 of 225	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.7	92 of 403	77.2%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	18.6	1037 of 1206	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.7	1088 of 1204	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.7	1106 of 1198	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	1002 of 1102	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.9	948 of 1005	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	916 of 1128	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.9	755 of 1253	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2024)57th percentile+29 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)50th percentile+16 vs school

Female (2025)35th percentile~ school

Male (2025)27th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)14th percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts37%-5 vs state

Math26%-12 vs state

Science26%-15 vs state

Social Studies16%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Jefferson School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Jefferson School	Public	PK, KG-5	420 N Jefferson St	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-2740	272	15	18.1	68.4%	206 (75.7%)	1 (0.4%)	51 (18.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.8%)	32	980^th of 1488 public elementary schools	34.1%		26.8	1071^st of 1486 public elementary schools	27.9%	91	40.9	41.0	30.2		38.6	15.4	23.3		25.6	16.3	$13,866	$2,653	$11,213
Emerson School	Public	PK, KG-5	645 Hackett St	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-8018	166	12	14.0	78.3%	119 (71.7%)	1 (0.6%)	35 (21.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.0%)	41.1	846^th of 1488 public elementary schools	43.1%		27.4	1063^rd of 1486 public elementary schools	28.5%	217	33.3	37.9	46.9		20.8	31.0	25.8		41.9	29.0	$15,597	$1,414	$14,182
North LeValley Elementary School	Public	K-5	2120 N State Rd	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Township S/D #2	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-4900	10	1	9.5	40.0%	10 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$21,953	$14,366	$7,588
AA Rather School	Public	PK, KG-5	380 E Tuttle Rd	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-1720	308	15	20.1	51.0%	261 (84.7%)	2 (0.6%)	32 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.2%)	57.1	607^th of 1488 public elementary schools	59.2%		55.9	620^th of 1486 public elementary schools	58.3%	13	59.6	39.2	50.8		44.2	35.3	35.6		44.1	30.5	$11,278	$2,492	$8,786
Haynor School	Public	K-6	1779 Haynor Rd	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Easton Township S/D #6	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-4900	10	2	6.4	30.0%	10 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$34,576	$6,780	$27,796
RB Boyce Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3550 N State Rd	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-0571	254	13	19.6	55.9%	229 (90.2%)	1 (0.4%)	21 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	31.2	992^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	33.3%		17.8	1204^th of 1486 public elementary schools	19.0%	212	40.9	26.0	31.0		52.3	16.0	13.8		24.1	17.2	$12,009	$2,095	$9,914
Twin Rivers Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	435 Lou Lemke Ln	Muir	48860	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 522-0005	183	10	19.0	65.0%	154 (84.2%)	3 (1.6%)	17 (9.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.4%)	29.7	1019^th of 1488 public elementary schools	31.5%		29.7	1024^th of 1486 public elementary schools	31.1%	5	27.3	35.3	31.8		27.3	32.4			27.3	18.2	$13,230	$3,520	$9,710
Coon School	Public	K-6	6679 S State Rd	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Berlin Township S/D #3	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-4900	15	1	13.0	66.7%	15 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)											$12,242	$5,218	$7,025
Saranac Elementary School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	250 Pleasant St	Saranac	48881	Ionia County	Saranac Community Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(616) 642-1200	433	28	15.4	44.1%	394 (91.0%)	5 (1.2%)	24 (5.5%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	58.6	582^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	60.9%		62.8	516^th of 1486 public elementary schools	65.3%	66	37.7	40.3	43.6	48.5	41.0	51.6	25.5	47.0	45.5	34.5	$13,367	$727	$12,640
Westwood Elementary School	Public	3-5	883 Cross St	Portland	48875	Ionia County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(517) 647-2989	423	25	16.7	37.6%	379 (89.6%)	6 (1.4%)	17 (4.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	47.9	753^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	49.4%		43	802^nd of 1486 public elementary schools	46.0%	49	32.8	32.2	39.7		47.4	45.9	36.8		39.0	28.1	$12,884	$2,145	$10,738

Frequently Asked Questions about Jefferson School

What is the racial makeup of Jefferson School?

Students at Jefferson School are 76% White, 19% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races.

How many students attend Jefferson School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 272 students attended Jefferson School.

What schools do graduates of Jefferson School attend?

Students who attend Jefferson School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ionia Middle School
High : Ionia High School

Is Jefferson School a good school?

Jefferson School ranks 980^th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Jefferson School in?

Ionia Public Schools

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Schools in Ionia, MI

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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.