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Ionia Middle School

Q: Is Ionia Middle School a good school?

Ionia Middle School ranks 530 th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

530^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 896 Michigan Middle Schools

Better than 41% of Michigan middle schools

Summary

Ionia Middle School, part of Ionia Public Schools, serves 629 students in grades 6-8 in Ionia, MI, a community where over 57% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Ionia Middle School is currently rated 2 stars, a step down from the 3-star ratings it held for the previous three years. The school's state ranking has slipped to the 41st percentile, its lowest point in nearly a decade. The most dramatic decline is in math: 6th-grade math proficiency dropped from 29.9% to 20.8% over two years, and 7th-grade math fell from 28.6% to 14.9%. These numbers now sit well below the state average and far behind nearby Lowell Middle School, where 6th-grade math proficiency is 61.2%. However, there is a bright spot: 8th-grade English Language Arts proficiency is 66.9%, which is above the state average and competitive with neighboring schools like Greenville Middle School and Lakewood Middle School.

Chronic absenteeism is a significant challenge, with a rate of 30.1%—higher than the state average and nearly double the rates at Lowell Middle School (16.5%) and Portland Middle School (16.1%). Even Belding Middle School, which has a similar level of economic need, has a lower absenteeism rate at 27.7%. On a positive note, the school's per-student spending of $13,212 is in line with peers, suggesting funding isn't the primary issue. While the school previously earned 4 stars for supporting its low-income students, that performance has also slipped recently. For parents, this means Ionia Middle School has real strengths in ELA but faces urgent challenges in math and attendance that will require focused attention.

629

Students ?

17.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,212

Per pupil spending ?

57.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

438 Union St
Ionia, MI 48846-1255

(616) 527-0040

District: Ionia Public Schools

Students who attend Ionia Middle School usually attend:

High:

Ionia High School

Feeder schools for Ionia Middle School:

Elementary:	AA Rather School
	Emerson School
	Jefferson School
	RB Boyce Elementary School
	More...
	Twin Rivers Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

83.1%

Hispanic:

11.9%

Two or more races:

4.3%

See top rated Michigan middle schools

Compare Ionia Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 62nd percentile in 2016 → 41st in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (32% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 21 percentile points since 2016

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school32%

District avg32%

Michigan avg41%

530^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 41%▼ down 21 pts since 2016

From top 38% (2016) to bottom 41% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

415^th of 625Ionia 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
2026	38.6	530 of 896	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.6	435 of 890	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.9	352 of 897	60.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	47.7	420 of 883	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.0	378 of 776	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	33.3	447 of 675	33.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	54.8	317 of 792	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.7	280 of 838	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2017	62.7	252 of 821	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2016	58.4	344 of 894	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2015	70.0	226 of 919	75.4%	★★★★☆
2014	50.8	478 of 921	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	43.1	558 of 919	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2012	53.1	436 of 900	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2011	57.7	461 of 858	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	53.4	534 of 851	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	57.6	483 of 847	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	58.0	466 of 839	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	61.2	402 of 823	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2006	72.3	224 of 806	72.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	30.8	542 of 789	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	43.2	430 of 789	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.6	386 of 771	49.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.7	404 of 770	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.3	357 of 657	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.2	377 of 521	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	51.7	296 of 658	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.3	249 of 794	68.6%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	46.5	133 of 260	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.5	192 of 265	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	50.4	121 of 257	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.1	131 of 246	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.8	72 of 138	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.3	52 of 69	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	58.0	49 of 137	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	72.3	55 of 266	79.3%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	36.6	519 of 834	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	53.4	343 of 832	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.8	247 of 836	70.5%	★★★★☆
2023	54.9	313 of 825	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	52.1	290 of 691	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	38.1	331 of 523	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	66.2	160 of 672	76.2%	★★★★☆
2018	70.2	178 of 815	78.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	39.0	463 of 813	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	45.5	406 of 798	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	52.7	321 of 786	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.4	428 of 776	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.2	347 of 658	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	27.0	405 of 540	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.9	293 of 639	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.1	274 of 797	65.6%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	44.8	100 of 190	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.1	108 of 176	38.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.8	114 of 163	30.1%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	28.3	183 of 236	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.2	182 of 244	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.2	133 of 199	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.5	69 of 76	9.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.2	292 of 377	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	25.6	532 of 687	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.2	424 of 696	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	394 of 701	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.8	447 of 688	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.1	381 of 638	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.3	412 of 577	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.7	325 of 624	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.6	312 of 678	54.0%	★★★☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2026)49th percentile+8 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)47th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)43rd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)38th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2026)31st percentile-10 vs school

White (2026)23rd percentile-18 vs school

Special Education (2026)22nd percentile-18 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies40%-10 vs state

Mathematics37%+3 vs state

Science33%-6 vs state

English Language Arts25%-13 vs state

Math18%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ionia 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 4th 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 4th 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
Ionia Middle School	Public	6-8	438 Union St	Ionia	48846	Ionia County	Ionia Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 527-0040	629	35	17.8	57.6%	523 (83.1%)	3 (0.5%)	75 (11.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.3%)	38.6	530^th of 896 public middle schools	40.8%		47.6	435^th of 890 public middle schools	51.1%	95	66.9	36.6			25.4	23.7			20.8	14.9		33.1		40.4	$13,212	$1,410	$11,802
Belding Middle School	Public	6-8	410 Ionia St	Belding	48809	Ionia County	Belding Area School District	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 794-4400	363	22	16.7	61.2%	298 (82.1%)	2 (0.6%)	43 (11.8%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.1%)	43.1	489^th of 896 public middle schools	45.4%		41.3	518^th of 890 public middle schools	41.8%	29	60.4	20.1			35.4	34.2			22.9	23.7		32.8		48.9	$14,385	$758	$13,627
Portland Middle School	Public	6-8	745 Storz St	Portland	48875	Ionia County	Portland Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(517) 647-2985	418	23	18.4	20.8%	374 (89.5%)	7 (1.7%)	20 (4.8%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.3%)	44.7	468^th of 896 public middle schools	47.8%		52.8	379^th of 890 public middle schools	57.4%	89	63.2	21.7			31.9	23.2			30.4	30.7		37.9		45.4	$13,007	$1,077	$11,931
Lowell Middle School	Public	6-8	750 Foreman St	Lowell	49331	Kent County	Lowell Area Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 987-2800	790	41	19.1	20.8%	708 (89.6%)	7 (0.9%)	42 (5.3%)	11 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	20 (2.5%)	89.6	73^rd of 896 public middle schools	91.9%		89.6	75^th of 890 public middle schools	91.6%	2	87.4	58.5			53.1	56.3			61.2	52.2		60.7		62.2	$13,684	$1,019	$12,666
Lakewood Middle School	Public	5-8	8669 Brown Rd	Woodland	48897	Barry County	Lakewood Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(616) 374-2400	514	24	21.3	30.7%	455 (88.5%)	2 (0.4%)	34 (6.6%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.9%)	40.5	511^th of 896 public middle schools	43.0%		44.2	487^th of 890 public middle schools	45.3%	24	65.1	27.9		53.8	29.4	26.7		33.3	16.7	13.3	58.1	37.8	36.8	48.8	$12,307	$532	$11,775
Carson CityCrystal Upper ElementaryMiddle School	Public	4-8	213 E Sherman St	Carson City	48811	Montcalm County	Carson City-Crystal Area Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(989) 584-3138	262	15	17.8	54.2%	248 (94.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	36	559^th of 896 public middle schools	37.6%		35.1	557^th of 890 public middle schools	37.4%	2	45.1	13.7	40.3	31.6	34.8	31.4	44.8	19.3	28.3	27.5	24.6	25.5	14.3	43.1	$13,782	$1,520	$12,262
Greenville Middle School	Public	5-8	1321 Chase St	Greenville	48838	Montcalm County	Greenville Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 754-9361	797	44	17.9	49.4%	730 (91.6%)	7 (0.9%)	35 (4.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.6%)	60.1	298^th of 896 public middle schools	66.7%		68.8	225^th of 890 public middle schools	74.7%	73	65.3	32.1			39.5	38.0			39.5	33.5		40.8		53.6	$14,682	$1,201	$13,480

Frequently Asked Questions about Ionia Middle School

How many students attend Ionia Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 629 students attended Ionia Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Ionia Middle School?

Students at Ionia Middle School are 83% White, 12% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Ionia Middle School in?

Ionia Public Schools

What high school do graduates of Ionia Middle School attend?

Students who attend Ionia Middle School usually go on to attend Ionia High School

Is Ionia Middle School a good school?

Ionia Middle School ranks 530^th of 896 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Ionia Middle School!

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Schools in Ionia, MI

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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.