Everett High School

Everett High School is a large, traditional public high school in Lansing, MI, serving 1,017 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Lansing Public School District. Nearly 89% of its students come from low-income households, and the school has earned a 1-star rating due to academic performance that consistently lands in the bottom 15-18% of Michigan high schools.

The most striking thing about Everett is the gap between its graduation success and its test scores. On one hand, the school has achieved a remarkable turnaround in keeping students on track: the graduation rate jumped from 76.8% in 2020-2021 to an impressive 95.0% in 2024-2025, which beats both the district average (93.8%) and the state average (84.0%). The dropout rate has plummeted to just 0.4%, the lowest among nearby high schools and far better than the state's 7.1% average. In fact, Everett's graduation rate now exceeds that of Holt Senior High School (86.1%) and Waverly Senior High School (92.7%). However, academic proficiency tells a different story—only 8.1% of 11th graders are proficient in math on the SAT, and just 17.1% are proficient in science. This suggests the school has become very effective at supporting students through to graduation, but is struggling to ensure they master grade-level academics along the way.

Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge that likely drives those low test scores. In 2024-2025, 53.2% of Everett students were chronically absent (missing 10% or more of the school year)—a big improvement from the 89.3% rate in 2021-2022, but still nearly double the state average of 27.9% and higher than Holt (38.3%) or Waverly (36.4%). Within the Lansing district, Everett sits in the middle: it outperforms JW Sexton High School in nearly every metric, but lags behind Eastern High School in test scores and state ranking. The school spends a substantial $19,861 per student—more than Holt ($16,112) or Waverly ($15,016)—yet outcomes remain low, raising questions about how effectively those resources are being used. For parents, the key takeaway is that Everett excels at keeping kids in school and graduating them, but families should be aware that academic proficiency and attendance remain significant areas of concern.