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Ballard Elementary School

Q: Is Ballard Elementary School a good school?

Ballard Elementary School ranks 782 nd of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

782^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 48% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Ballard Elementary School in Niles, MI, serves 516 students from Pre-K through 5th grade as part of the Niles Community Schools district, and it has made a remarkable turnaround in recent years, jumping from the 28th percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 48th percentile in 2025-2026.

One of the most encouraging stories at Ballard is its success with specific groups of students. The school ranks in the 74th percentile statewide for special education students—a standout achievement that suggests strong, targeted support systems are in place. Hispanic students have also consistently outperformed the school's overall ranking, landing in the 57th to 66th percentile over the past three years. Given that over 77% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, these results are especially noteworthy. The school's per-student spending ($14,047) is higher than the district average, reflecting the additional resources needed to support a high-needs population. While Ballard still trails Eastside Connections School (which ranks in the 72nd percentile and has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 10.8%), it performs comparably to HowardEllis Elementary School and vastly outperforms nearby Brandywine Elementary School, which sits in the 14th percentile.

Academically, Ballard shows a mixed picture. In English Language Arts, 5th graders actually surpass the state average (45.6% vs. 43.8%), demonstrating strong growth from 3rd grade. However, math proficiency drops significantly by 5th grade (32.5% vs. 41.1% in 3rd grade), and social studies remains a clear weakness—only 12.8% of 5th graders are proficient, less than half the state average of 27.5%. Chronic absenteeism, while dramatically improved from 46.2% to 22.2%, remains higher than the district average and several peer schools. For parents, Ballard offers a dedicated, improving environment with notable strengths in supporting special education and Hispanic students, though upper-grade math and social studies are areas to watch.

516

Students ?

18.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,047

Per pupil spending ?

77.7%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

92.1%

Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines (2025-26)

Exemptions: 3.4% (any vaccine)

1601 W Chicago Rd
Niles, MI 49120-3168

(269) 683-5900

District: Niles Community Schools

Students who attend Ballard Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Ring Lardner Middle School
High:	Niles Senior High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.3%

Hispanic:

14.9%

African American:

12.0%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Ballard Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 29th percentile in 2016 → 48th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 19 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Social Studies scores 15 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school35%

District avg39%

Michigan avg38%

782^nd of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 48%▲ up 18 pts since 2016

From bottom 29% (2016) to bottom 48% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Elementary Schools in the Niles Community Schools

250^th of 625Niles Community 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	44.7	782 of 1492	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	46.8	768 of 1488	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.9	1070 of 1486	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.3	849 of 1470	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.5	817 of 1344	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.3	879 of 1153	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	38.9	854 of 1408	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.3	807 of 1448	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2017	33.7	969 of 1466	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	30.8	1095 of 1548	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	40.4	1000 of 1580	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	34.8	1093 of 1533	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	37.8	1059 of 1563	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	45.8	937 of 1566	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	59.1	806 of 1552	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2010	67.1	625 of 1552	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	64.5	675 of 1589	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2008	63.9	667 of 1577	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2007	58.8	771 of 1565	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2006	50.1	969 of 1545	37.3%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	55.1	168 of 475	64.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	41.2	737 of 1343	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.8	856 of 1338	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	21.8	1062 of 1342	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.1	857 of 1321	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.8	796 of 1106	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.4	748 of 902	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.0	794 of 1171	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.1	841 of 1443	41.7%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	58.8	76 of 225	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	50.8	89 of 209	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	48.2	78 of 201	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	67.5	45 of 188	76.1%	★★★★☆
2018	70.5	44 of 222	80.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	49.2	620 of 1352	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	59.8	464 of 1346	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.4	874 of 1381	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.3	748 of 1350	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.5	614 of 1099	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.4	622 of 749	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.1	641 of 1134	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	58.1	564 of 1397	59.6%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	43.6	742 of 1372	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	49.0	669 of 1366	51.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	25.4	999 of 1347	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.8	782 of 1334	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.6	785 of 1139	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	18.9	783 of 915	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.5	673 of 1196	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.3	728 of 1446	49.7%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	49.8	35 of 93	62.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	34.3	49 of 81	39.5%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	65.5	63 of 246	74.4%	★★★★☆
2018	54.4	149 of 403	63.0%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	37.1	764 of 1199	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	45.2	665 of 1206	44.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.3	987 of 1204	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.4	728 of 1198	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.5	797 of 1102	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.5	763 of 1005	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.2	640 of 1128	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.6	743 of 1253	40.7%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)74th percentile+27 vs school

Hispanic (2026)66th percentile+19 vs school

African American (2018)65th percentile+20 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)62nd percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)54th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2026)46th percentile~ school

Female (2026)45th percentile~ school

White (2026)36th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts41%~ state avg

Science39%~ state avg

Math36%~ state avg

Social Studies13%-15 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Ballard Elementary 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 Vaccination 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)		Vaccination (2025-26)		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 3rd 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 3rd 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	Vaccination: Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ballard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1601 W Chicago Rd	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Niles Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 683-5900	516	28	18.4	77.7%	311 (60.3%)	62 (12.0%)	77 (14.9%)	3 (0.6%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	59 (11.4%)	44.7	782^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	47.6%		46.8	768^th of 1488 public elementary schools	48.4%	14			37.0	39.0	45.6			41.1	35.4	32.5			39.2		12.8		92.1%	3.4%	$14,047	$2,046	$12,000
Eastside Connections School	Public, Magnet	K-8	1 Tyler St	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Niles Community Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(269) 682-2585	403	22	18.5	51.1%	257 (63.8%)	57 (14.1%)	42 (10.4%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (9.9%)	69	423^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	71.6%		76.1	321^st of 1488 public elementary schools	78.4%	102	74.1	35.2	34.1	68.5	65.5	80.4	64.1	43.2	70.4	34.5	27.7	43.6	43.1	48.1	32.8	55.6	91.5%	6.4%	$13,710	$1,038	$12,672
Northside Child Development Center	Public	PK-K	2020 N 5th St	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Niles Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(269) 683-1982	13	3	4.4	23.1%	11 (84.6%)	1 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (7.7%)								(n/a)																			$27,161	$10,353	$16,808
Brandywine Elementary School	Public	3-6	2428 S 13th St	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Brandywine Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 684-8574	379	23	16.5	68.6%	310 (81.8%)	16 (4.2%)	19 (5.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.1%)	2 (0.5%)	27 (7.1%)	14.4	1290^th of 1492 public elementary schools	13.5%		19.9	1159^th of 1488 public elementary schools	22.1%	131			14.3	25.6	21.7	16.3		22.0	16.7	8.7	12.8		19.6		12.0				$13,876	$1,223	$12,653
Merritt Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	1620 Lasalle Ave	Niles	49120	Berrien County	Brandywine Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 684-6511	304	22	14.0	73.0%	235 (77.3%)	9 (3.0%)	25 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (9.9%)								(n/a)																	95.5%	2.2%	$14,262	$1,685	$12,577
Moccasin Elementary School	Public	2-4	410 Moccasin St	Buchanan	49107	Berrien County	Buchanan Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 695-8408	354	19	18.8	57.1%	287 (81.1%)	15 (4.2%)	19 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (9.3%)	73.8	359^th of 1492 public elementary schools	75.9%		67.5	449^th of 1488 public elementary schools	69.8%	90			54.1	50.4				61.3	46.1										$11,519	$417	$11,102
Ottawa Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-1	109 Ottawa St	Buchanan	49107	Berrien County	Buchanan Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 695-8409	230	15	15.1	62.2%	195 (84.8%)	5 (2.2%)	10 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)	1 (0.4%)	15 (6.5%)								(n/a)																	89.8%	5.6%	$15,527	$893	$14,635
HowardEllis Elementary School	Public	K-5	2788 Mannix St	Niles	49120	Cass County	Niles Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 683-4633	529	27	19.4	66.4%	336 (63.5%)	85 (16.1%)	48 (9.1%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	53 (10.0%)	49.2	708^th of 1492 public elementary schools	52.5%		57.3	601^st of 1488 public elementary schools	59.6%	107			35.3	36.4	51.3			50.6	37.5	29.2			40.2		21.6		86.6%	11%	$13,892	$1,466	$12,426
Mars Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	1 Sylvester Ave	Berrien Springs	49103	Berrien County	Berrien Springs Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 471-1836	338	28	12.0	60.1%	133 (39.3%)	95 (28.1%)	56 (16.6%)	17 (5.0%)	5 (1.5%)	7 (2.1%)	25 (7.4%)								(n/a)																	92%	1.1%	$18,750	$873	$17,876
Sylvester Elementary School	Public	2-5	1 Sylvester Ave	Berrien Springs	49103	Berrien County	Berrien Springs Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(269) 471-7198	394	27	14.5	62.2%	166 (42.1%)	122 (31.0%)	57 (14.5%)	13 (3.3%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.3%)	30 (7.6%)	40	860^th of 1492 public elementary schools	42.4%		48.4	745^th of 1488 public elementary schools	49.9%	115			32.5	39.3	35.1			35.3	44.4	30.8			33.1		16.5				$19,600	$1,090	$18,510

Frequently Asked Questions about Ballard Elementary School

How many students attend Ballard Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 516 students attended Ballard Elementary School.

What district is Ballard Elementary School in?

Niles Community Schools

What schools do graduates of Ballard Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Ballard Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Ring Lardner Middle School
High : Niles Senior High School

Is Ballard Elementary School a good school?

Ballard Elementary School ranks 782^nd of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Ballard Elementary School?

Students at Ballard Elementary School are 60% White, 15% Hispanic, 12% African American, 11% Two or more races.

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2024–25 school spending data (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

2021–22 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

2025–26 M-Step, PSAT & SAT test scoresSep 4, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 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.