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Kalkaska Middle School

Q: Is Kalkaska Middle School a good school?

Kalkaska Middle School ranks 533 rd of 890 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

533^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 890 Michigan Middle Schools

Better than 40% of Michigan middle schools

Summary

Kalkaska Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in Kalkaska, Michigan, part of the Kalkaska Public Schools district. With 309 students, the school faces significant challenges, including consistently underperforming the state averages in academic proficiency across all subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, only 27.2% of 6th graders were proficient in ELA compared to the state average of 38.6%, and only 17.4% of 6th graders were proficient in Math compared to the state average of 31.5%.

Kalkaska Middle School also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.5% to 33.9% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 56.63% to 66.45% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite these challenges, Kalkaska Middle School spends significantly more per student ($12,433 to $15,111) compared to the state average.

Compared to nearby schools like East Middle School in Traverse City and Cherryland Middle School in Elk Rapids, Kalkaska Middle School performs significantly worse academically, with much higher proficiency rates, higher rankings, and lower chronic absenteeism. Additionally, Kalkaska Middle School's performance has been declining over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 475 out of 776 in 2021-2022 to 533 out of 890 in 2024-2025.

307

Students ?

16.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,111

Per pupil spending ?

55.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1700 W Kalkaska Rd
Kalkaska, MI 49646-9147

(231) 258-4040

District: Kalkaska Public Schools

Students who attend Kalkaska Middle School usually attend:

High:

Kalkaska High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

95.8%

Hispanic:

2.9%

Two or more races:

1.0%

See top rated Michigan middle schools

Compare Kalkaska Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 33rd percentile in 2015 → 40th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

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

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

!English Language Arts scores 16 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg32%

Michigan avg41%

533^rd of 890

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 40%▲ up 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 33% (2015) to bottom 40% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

340^th of 613Kalkaska 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	38.5	533 of 890	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	515 of 897	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.0	565 of 883	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	475 of 776	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.3	530 of 675	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.5	597 of 792	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.3	635 of 838	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.1	745 of 821	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	24.2	676 of 894	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	35.2	613 of 919	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	45.2	550 of 921	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	35.4	633 of 919	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	36.8	624 of 900	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	55.7	494 of 858	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	54.5	525 of 851	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	40.1	635 of 847	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	59.5	448 of 839	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2007	51.9	517 of 823	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2006	39.3	621 of 806	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	39.0	467 of 789	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.5	512 of 771	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.2	419 of 770	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.8	458 of 657	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.4	434 of 521	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.4	521 of 658	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	582 of 794	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	50.5	375 of 832	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	45.2	423 of 836	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.0	427 of 825	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.6	403 of 691	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.7	277 of 523	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.9	504 of 672	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.0	596 of 815	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	31.8	533 of 798	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.1	481 of 786	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.0	580 of 776	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.3	415 of 658	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	18.2	476 of 540	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	538 of 639	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.8	591 of 797	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	22.2	337 of 377	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	547 of 696	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.8	543 of 701	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.4	578 of 688	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.8	491 of 638	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.7	512 of 577	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.3	561 of 624	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.2	626 of 678	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)55th percentile+15 vs school

Female (2025)41st percentile~ school

Male (2025)33rd percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)21st percentile-19 vs school

Special Education (2018)11th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

Science43%~ state avg

Social Studies40%-7 vs state

Mathematics32%~ state avg

English Language Arts23%-16 vs state

Math16%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Kalkaska 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 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
Kalkaska Middle School	Public	6-8	1700 W Kalkaska Rd	Kalkaska	49646	Kalkaska County	Kalkaska Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 258-4040	307	19	16.5	55.4%	294 (95.8%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	38.5	533^rd of 890 public middle schools	40.1%		40	515^th of 897 public middle schools	42.6%	18	65.6	32.3			27.2	19.3			17.4	15.6		42.7		39.6	$15,111	$1,142	$13,969
Forest Area Middle School	Public	4-8	7661 Shippy Rd SW	Fife Lake	49633	Kalkaska County	Forest Area Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 369-2884	193	13	14.3	56.5%	172 (89.1%)	3 (1.6%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.2%)	14.3	762^nd of 890 public middle schools	14.4%		13.8	779^th of 897 public middle schools	13.2%	17	41.7		21.6	27.0	19.0	10.0	24.3	13.5	16.7		29.7	16.2	13.5	18.9	$14,266	$1,771	$12,494
Mancelona Middle School	Public	5-8	112 St Johns Ave	Mancelona	49659	Antrim County	Mancelona Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 587-9869	242	15	16.2	80.6%	228 (94.2%)	2 (0.8%)	9 (3.7%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	52.2	384^th of 890 public middle schools	56.9%		51.7	381^st of 897 public middle schools	57.5%	3	68.0	42.0		52.5	28.2	30.6		24.6	16.9	24.5	49.2	54.0	29.5	62.0	$16,826	$2,745	$14,081
Cherryland Middle School	Public	6-8	707 E 3rd St	Elk Rapids	49629	Antrim County	Elk Rapids Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 264-8991	277	16	17.3	22.0%	249 (89.9%)	1 (0.4%)	14 (5.1%)	2 (0.7%)	10 (3.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	80.2	135^th of 890 public middle schools	84.8%		79.1	136^th of 897 public middle schools	84.8%	1	84.5	40.5			48.1	55.3			38.8	46.3		47.6		73.8	$00	$00	$00
East Middle School	Public	6-8	1776 3 Mile Rd N	Traverse City	49696	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 933-7300	829	42	19.8	30.4%	723 (87.2%)	25 (3.0%)	33 (4.0%)	16 (1.9%)	29 (3.5%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	76.5	161^st of 890 public middle schools	81.9%		83.1	109^th of 897 public middle schools	87.8%	52	77.8	33.5			50.0	55.4			40.3	48.4		48.9		57.5	$15,014	$725	$14,288

Frequently Asked Questions about Kalkaska Middle School

What is the racial makeup of Kalkaska Middle School?

Students at Kalkaska Middle School are 96% White, 3% Hispanic.

Is Kalkaska Middle School a good school?

Kalkaska Middle School ranks 533^rd of 890 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Kalkaska Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 307 students attended Kalkaska Middle School.

What high school do graduates of Kalkaska Middle School attend?

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

What district is Kalkaska Middle School in?

Kalkaska Public Schools

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Schools in Kalkaska, 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.