Saugatuck High School

Saugatuck High School is a small, highly-rated public high school in Saugatuck, MI, serving 267 students in grades 9-12 as part of the top-ranked Saugatuck Public Schools district.

For parents, the headline is clear: this school delivers exceptional academics. Test scores are far above state averages, and the school ranks in the 94th percentile of Michigan high schools. Its graduation rate is an impressive 95.2%. What truly sets Saugatuck apart, however, is how well it supports students from lower-income backgrounds. Even though about 23% of students are classified as low socio-economic status, the school ranks in the 97th percentile for that group's performance—a remarkable outlier compared to nearby schools like West Ottawa High School Campus or Holland High School, which have much larger low-income populations but score closer to the state average. The school also invests heavily per student ($19,016) and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 16.4, which likely contributes to its success.

However, there are two significant concerns. First, math is a relative weak spot: only 34.3% of 11th graders are proficient in SAT math, far below the school's own 75.7% proficiency in reading and writing, and lower than nearby Hamilton High School (47.7%) and Black River Public School MiddleHigh (47.9%). Second, and more alarmingly, the chronic absenteeism rate is 47.2%—nearly double the state average and dramatically higher than peers like Zeeland East High School (7.9%). This creates a paradox: students achieve top-tier results despite nearly half being chronically absent, suggesting instruction is highly effective when students attend. Still, this is a red flag for engagement and well-being. The only school in the area that consistently outperforms Saugatuck is Black River, a charter school with higher scores and a 6.4% absenteeism rate, offering a useful benchmark for improvement.