Mancelona High School

Mancelona High School is a small, rural high school in northern Michigan serving 243 students in grades 9-12, where over 73% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is part of the Mancelona Public Schools district, which currently holds a 3-star rating.

The most striking finding is the school's exceptional performance with its low-income students. In the most recent school year, this subgroup ranked in the 81st percentile statewide, earning a 4-star rating—a remarkable achievement given that nearly three-quarters of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch. This is particularly notable when compared to nearby Elk Rapids High School, which has a much lower poverty rate (18.9%) yet consistently ranks in the top 10-15% of schools statewide. However, there is a significant gender gap: male students ranked in the 74th percentile while female students ranked in the 55th percentile, a pattern that has persisted over the past two years. The school's overall state ranking has also been highly volatile, swinging from the bottom 28% statewide one year to a 4-star rating (71st percentile) the next, suggesting inconsistent year-to-year performance rather than a steady trend.

While Mancelona's graduation rate of 86.7% is above the state average, its dropout rate of 11.3% is significantly higher than the state average (7.1%) and much higher than comparable nearby schools like East Jordan MiddleHigh School (3.7%) and Kalkaska High School (5.4%). Chronic absenteeism is also a concern at 30.1%, higher than the state average of 27.9% and far above more affluent neighbors like Elk Rapids (12.1%). On a positive note, the most recent data shows a dramatic recovery in 11th-grade proficiency rates, with Science (52.6%) and Social Studies (52.6%) now well above state averages. The school spends $15,808 per student, but maintains a relatively high student-teacher ratio of 16.3, suggesting funds may not be directed toward reducing class sizes.