Summary
Newberry Area School in Newberry, MI, is a public school serving 496 students in grades PK through 12 within the Tahquamenon Area Schools district, making it a mid-sized option in a rural area where over 64% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
When parents compare Newberry to the nearby Engadine Schools, some clear differences emerge. Newberry's graduation rate is highly volatile, swinging from a high of 97.5% to a low of 69% in recent years, and currently sits at 71.7%—well below Engadine's stable 88.8%. The school also faces a dropout rate of 12.8%, more than double Engadine's 5.5% and nearly double the state average. Chronic absenteeism is another concern, affecting 36.6% of students compared to 28.1% at Engadine. Notably, both schools spend nearly identical amounts per student (around $15,300–$15,400), which suggests the performance gap stems from engagement and consistency challenges rather than a lack of funding.
Academically, Newberry shows a striking split between subjects. English Language Arts proficiency is relatively close to state averages, and 11th graders even outperformed the state on the SAT reading and writing section in a recent year. However, math proficiency is critically low—for example, only 10.8% of 5th graders and 15.8% of 6th graders are proficient, compared to state averages above 31%. There is a notable bright spot in 3rd grade, where math proficiency reached 54.5%, exceeding the state's 42.9%, but these gains are not sustained in later grades. Test scores also fluctuate dramatically year to year, likely due to small class sizes, making it hard to gauge program effectiveness. While the school demonstrates pockets of excellence, particularly in early-grade math and high school literacy, addressing absenteeism and stabilizing student performance will be key to improving outcomes across the board.
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