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Pontiac High School

Q: Is Pontiac High School a good school?

Pontiac High School ranks in the bottom 2.1% of Michigan high schools.

Q: How many students attend Pontiac High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 992 students attended Pontiac High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Pontiac High School?

Students at Pontiac High School are 54% Hispanic, 36% African American, 4% White, 3% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

Q: What schools feed into Pontiac High School?

Pontiac High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Alcott School Elementary : Herrington School Elementary : Owen Elementary School Elementary : Rogers School Elementary : Whitman Elementary School Middle : Pontiac Middle School

Public Grades 9-12

783^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 800 Michigan High Schools

Better than 2% of Michigan high schools

Summary

Pontiac High School is a large, traditional public high school in Pontiac, MI, serving 992 students in grades 9-12 within the Pontiac City School District. The school serves a predominantly low-income community, with about 67% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, and faces significant challenges reflected in its academic and attendance metrics.

Academically, Pontiac High School's proficiency rates are dramatically lower than those of nearby schools, despite being located just a few miles away. For example, on the 11th-grade SAT reading and writing exam, only 9.6% of Pontiac students were proficient, compared to 81.3% at Rochester Adams High School (4.1 miles away) and 43.4% at Avondale High School (3.3 miles away). The math gap is even starker: just 2.3% of Pontiac 10th graders were proficient on the PSAT, versus 63.2% at Rochester Adams and 22.5% at Avondale. The graduation rate at Pontiac is 66.3%, nearly 18 points below the state average, while the dropout rate is a staggering 31.4%—compared to 0.0% at Rochester Adams and 3.7% at Avondale. Chronic absenteeism is also a major crisis, with 72.2% of Pontiac students missing 10% or more of the school year, more than 2.5 times the state average and far exceeding rates at nearby schools like Waterford Mott High School (41.1%) and Avondale (22.4%).

One of the most striking findings is the spending paradox: Pontiac High School spends $29,768 per student—more than double the per-student spending at Rochester Adams ($14,221) and Avondale ($15,627)—yet achieves the lowest test scores in the area. This suggests the school is investing heavily in remedial programs and support services to address the significant challenges its students face, but those investments are not translating into academic success on standardized tests. While there were signs of improvement between 2022 and 2025, the most recent data shows a sharp decline, indicating that progress is fragile and highly dependent on each year's student cohort. For parents, this school faces deep, systemic hurdles that go beyond funding, and the high absenteeism rate is likely the most critical barrier to student success.

992

Students ?

17.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$29,768

Per pupil spending ?

67.3%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

1051 Arlene Ave
Pontiac, MI 48340-2904

(248) 451-7424

District: Pontiac City School District

Feeder schools for Pontiac High School:

Elementary:	Alcott School
	Herrington School
	Owen Elementary School
	Rogers School
	More...
	Whitman Elementary School
Middle:	Pontiac Middle School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

54.0%

African American:

35.8%

White:

4.1%

See top rated Michigan high schools

Compare Pontiac High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 6th percentile in 2015 → 2nd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (8% vs 43% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Michigan average (66% vs 84%)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school8%

District avg14%

Michigan avg43%

783^rd of 800

Michigan public high schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 13% (2016) to bottom 2% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

583^rd of 625Pontiac City School District 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	3.6	783 of 800	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.4	662 of 739	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.5	670 of 743	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.2	678 of 735	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.3	543 of 561	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.9	652 of 666	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.4	663 of 824	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	6.1	734 of 835	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	8.8	739 of 852	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	9.2	778 of 832	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	8.9	714 of 799	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	8.5	739 of 805	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	10.3	691 of 773	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	5.4	744 of 784	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	5.2	732 of 765	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	7.1	702 of 754	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	9.7	665 of 750	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	9.7	675 of 767	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	4.6	659 of 705	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	15.2	239 of 252	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.4	172 of 192	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.5	134 of 188	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.7	166 of 170	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.6	136 of 147	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.5	207 of 254	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	10.7	78 of 87	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	14.6	49 of 53	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	29.9	20 of 35	42.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	31.6	66 of 102	35.3%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	3.0	671 of 686	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.2	574 of 629	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	578 of 619	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.6	592 of 611	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	3.9	456 of 462	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.8	547 of 554	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.5	600 of 710	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	1.4	259 of 259	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.8	189 of 203	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.2	190 of 195	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.9	177 of 190	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.5	97 of 97	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	159 of 201	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	4.2	707 of 719	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	15.3	551 of 635	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.8	574 of 654	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	9.5	571 of 614	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.3	400 of 417	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.3	523 of 532	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.7	600 of 755	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	2.4	690 of 693	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.4	592 of 628	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.6	598 of 633	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.1	574 of 611	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.3	539 of 543	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.8	617 of 707	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	10.1	306 of 315	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	16.8	576 of 708	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

White (2018)19th percentile~ school

Asian (2018)10th percentile-9 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)8th percentile-3 vs school

African American (2026)5th percentile+3 vs school

Special Education (2018)3rd percentile-17 vs school

Female (2026)2nd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)2nd percentile~ school

Male (2026)<1st percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts15%-44 vs state

Evidence-Based Reading and Writing10%-42 vs state

Science6%-29 vs state

Social Studies5%-38 vs state

Mathematics3%-29 vs state

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What people are saying

by a student
Thursday, August 7, 2014

I know I shouldn't be all negative but there is nothing good about the Pontiac school district. I'm a student and go to Pontiac high, starting off they keep closing down the schools and cramming all the kids in what's left. The building are all run down and not kept up well, which the kids there don't make it any better because they don't care. There is always something wrong with the bus's and there never own time, I can recall a dozen times when I had to wait at the bus stop in the cold for up to or more than an half an hour and once didn't even show up. There are some teacher who care about whether or not you make to the next grade, but for the most part they don't care all they think about is there paycheck and I don't blame them for that because the students treat them like there doing something for the teacher when its the other way around. The student cuss out the teacher and just treat them like trash. There are so many fight, food fights and bullying. Every morning before you can even walk through the door you have to take your coat/sweater and backpack off and put them through a metal detector and walk through one, its like airport security. you cant bring your own food or drinks in so its there food (which I wont even go there right know) or you wait till your 8 hour school day is over. In my opinion the state needs to close down Pontiac school district and just bus the kids to the surrounding schools, but the city thinks it going to get better but its not if anything its staying the same. Close Quote

Schools Near Pontiac High 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 Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)			PSAT Mathematics (2026)			SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)		M-Step Math (2026)		M-Step Science (2026)		M-Step Social Studies (2026)		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 English Language Arts 9th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 10th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 9th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 10th Grade	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Science 11th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Pontiac High School	Public	9-12	1051 Arlene Ave	Pontiac	48340	Oakland County	Pontiac City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(248) 451-7424	992	58	17.1	67.3%	41 (4.1%)	355 (35.8%)	536 (54.0%)	27 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	31 (3.1%)	3.6	783^rd of 800 public high schools	2.1%		10.4	662^nd of 739 public high schools	10.4%	121		15.4	13.8		4.5	2.3	9.6	369.0						5.9		5.1	$29,768	$8,877	$20,891
Pontiac Academy for Student Success	Public	9-12	1051 Arlene Ave	Pontiac	48340	Oakland County	Pontiac City School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 451-7323	7	1	7.7	—	1 (14.3%)	2 (28.6%)	3 (42.9%)	1 (14.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																	$43,574	$38,220	$5,353
Bethune Adult Education	Public	12	1051 Arlene Ave	Pontiac	48340	Oakland County	Pontiac City School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 451-7970	0	1	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Oakland Schools Technical CampusNE	Public	9-12	1371 N Perry St	Pontiac	48340	Oakland County	Oakland Schools	No	No	No	No	(248) 451-2700	0	18	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Pontiac Academy for Excellence MiddleHigh	Public, Magnet, Charter	6-12	196 Cesar E Chavez Ave	Pontiac	48342	Oakland County	Pontiac Academy for Excellence	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(248) 745-9420	553	31	17.9	—	13 (2.4%)	363 (65.6%)	144 (26.0%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.7%)	7.3	737^th of 800 public high schools	7.9%		14.6	628^th of 739 public high schools	15.0%	109	20.8	20.5	23.1	330.4	341.5	7.7	399.6	366.2	1567.3	13.3	1563.2	6.7	8.3	11.5	8.3	15.4	$00	$00	$00
Learn4Life Pontiac	Public, Charter	9-12	142 Auburn Ave	Pontiac	48342	Oakland County	Learn4Life Pontiac	Yes	No	No	Yes	(248) 206-4316	104	6	16.7	80.8%	6 (5.8%)	84 (80.8%)	10 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.8%)								(n/a)		18.8	343.5		275.6	314.3											$11,727	$899	$10,829
Avondale High School	Public	9-12	2800 Waukegan St	Auburn Hills	48326	Oakland County	Avondale School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 537-6100	911	52	17.5	39.8%	342 (37.5%)	377 (41.4%)	129 (14.2%)	51 (5.6%)	6 (0.7%)	6 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	39.7	460^th of 800 public high schools	42.5%		44.6	409^th of 739 public high schools	44.7%	51		53.8	56.7		20.5	22.5	43.4	19.0						29.4		36.4	$15,627	$1,013	$14,614
Avondale Learning Center	Public	12	220 S Squirrel Rd	Auburn Hills	48326	Oakland County	Avondale School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 537-6440	8	3	2.5	—	4 (50.0%)	4 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																	$5,230	$564	$4,666
Rochester Adams High School	Public	6-12	3200 W Tienken Rd	Rochester Hills	48306	Oakland County	Rochester Community School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 726-5200	1,521	70	21.7	4.8%	1,065 (70.0%)	47 (3.1%)	90 (5.9%)	269 (17.7%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (3.1%)	96.6	15^th of 800 public high schools	98.1%		97.5	11^th of 739 public high schools	98.5%	4		86.5	83.8		69.0	63.2	81.3	66.0						63.6		70.1	$14,221	$324	$13,897
Waterford Mott High School	Public	9-12	1151 Scott Lake Rd	Waterford	48328	Oakland County	Waterford School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 674-4134	963	56	17.1	53.6%	483 (50.2%)	138 (14.3%)	248 (25.8%)	34 (3.5%)	5 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	53 (5.5%)	19.2	616^th of 800 public high schools	23.0%		21.6	569^th of 739 public high schools	23.0%	47		33.6	33.7		12.3	12.8	36.7	7.7						22.4		30.9	$19,074	$2,178	$16,896

Frequently Asked Questions about Pontiac High School

How many students attend Pontiac High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 992 students attended Pontiac High School.

What schools feed into Pontiac High School?

Pontiac High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Alcott School
Elementary : Herrington School
Elementary : Owen Elementary School
Elementary : Rogers School
Elementary : Whitman Elementary School
Middle : Pontiac Middle School

What district is Pontiac High School in?

Pontiac City School District

Is Pontiac High School a good school?

Pontiac High School ranks in the bottom 2.1% of Michigan high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Pontiac High School?

Students at Pontiac High School are 54% Hispanic, 36% African American, 4% White, 3% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

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

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 6, 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.