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Shelby Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1331^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 11% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Shelby Elementary School in Shelby, MI, serves 433 students from Pre-K through 5th grade and is part of the Shelby Public Schools district, which ranks in the 31st percentile statewide.

Shelby Elementary faces significant academic challenges. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 15% of Michigan elementary schools over the past three years, and its proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math are dramatically lower than the state average. For example, 5th-grade ELA proficiency sits at 18.4% compared to the state's 43.8%. This performance gap is visible across all grade levels and subjects. When compared to nearby Whitehall Ealy Elementary School, which serves the same grade range, the difference is stark—Whitehall Ealy achieves 60% proficiency in 5th-grade ELA and 43.2% in 5th-grade Math, more than double and triple Shelby's rates, respectively. The school also serves a high-need population, with 78-88% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. While Shelby spends a substantial $18,422 per student—higher than Whitehall Ealy's $13,766—and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.7, these resources have not yet translated into improved academic outcomes.

There are some signs of progress worth noting. The school's overall state ranking has improved slightly over the past three years, moving from the 15th percentile to the 11th percentile. Third-grade ELA proficiency also improved from 15.3% to 22.4% over the same period. However, a concerning internal trend shows student performance declining as they advance through grades—3rd-grade math proficiency of 21.1% drops to just 11.8% by 5th grade, suggesting students are not building on foundational skills. Chronic absenteeism at 24.1% is lower than the district average of 32.1% but higher than nearby Oehrli Elementary School (17.3%). For parents considering this school, it's important to understand that while Shelby Elementary is investing heavily in its students, the school is still working to find strategies that effectively close the achievement gap with neighboring districts like Whitehall District Schools.

433

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,422

Per pupil spending ?

78.1%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

90%

Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines (2025-26)

Exemptions: 2.9% (any vaccine)

1285 S Oceana Dr
Shelby, MI 49455

(231) 861-5541

District: Shelby Public Schools

Students who attend Shelby Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Shelby Middle School
High:	Shelby High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

51.0%

Hispanic:

43.0%

Two or more races:

4.4%

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Compare Shelby Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 22nd percentile in 2006 → 11th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (16% vs 38% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2006

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school16%

District avg16%

Michigan avg38%

1,331^st of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 11%▼ down 4 pts since 2024

From bottom 15% (2024) to bottom 11% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

432^nd of 625Shelby Public 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	12.0	1331 of 1492	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.3	1274 of 1488	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	1266 of 1486	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.0	1408 of 1552	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	24.0	1384 of 1589	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	18.1	1429 of 1577	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	31.8	1294 of 1565	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	38.4	1207 of 1545	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	10.9	1252 of 1343	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.5	1237 of 1338	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	1226 of 1342	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.2	217 of 225	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	23.3	164 of 209	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.3	185 of 201	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	14.7	1224 of 1352	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	16.8	1173 of 1346	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	1209 of 1381	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	9.9	1280 of 1372	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.6	1215 of 1366	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	1232 of 1347	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.3	1167 of 1199	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.2	1175 of 1206	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	1122 of 1204	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)9th percentile~ school

Female (2026)7th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)7th percentile-4 vs school

Hispanic (2026)4th percentile-7 vs school

White (2026)3rd percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts18%-23 vs state

Math16%-22 vs state

Science14%-26 vs state

Social Studies8%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Shelby 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)				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	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th 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
Shelby Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1285 S Oceana Dr	Shelby	49455	Oceana County	Shelby Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 861-5541	433	32	13.7	78.1%	221 (51.0%)	5 (1.2%)	186 (43.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.4%)	12	1331^st of 1492 public elementary schools	10.8%		14.3	1274^th of 1488 public elementary schools	14.4%	57	22.4	14.8	18.4	21.1	14.8	11.8	14.5	7.9	90%	2.9%	$18,422	$3,742	$14,680
Spitler Elementary School	Public	K-4	302 Johnson St W	Hart	49420	Oceana County	Hart Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 873-6340	389	35	11.2	80.5%	240 (61.7%)	0 (0.0%)	140 (36.0%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	30.9	990^th of 1492 public elementary schools	33.6%		29.3	1024^th of 1488 public elementary schools	31.2%	34	26.9	32.2		31.3	30.7				94.1%	5.9%	$17,238	$2,310	$14,927
Walkerville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	170 E North St	Walkerville	49459	Oceana County	Walkerville Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(231) 873-4850	50	6	7.7	80.0%	34 (68.0%)	1 (2.0%)	11 (22.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (8.0%)								(n/a)											$18,097	$4,958	$13,139
Montague Area Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	9151 Dicey St	Montague	49437	Muskegon County	Montague Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 894-9018	85	7	11.8	49.4%	73 (85.9%)	2 (2.4%)	7 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.5%)								(n/a)									87.5%	8.7%	$20,431	$2,708	$17,723
Oehrli Elementary School	Public	1-5	4859 Knudsen St	Montague	49437	Muskegon County	Montague Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 894-9018	436	30	14.6	45.4%	380 (87.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (10.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	31.2	984^th of 1492 public elementary schools	34.0%		40.9	851^st of 1488 public elementary schools	42.8%	133	35.0	29.1	20.0	36.3	44.2	17.6	29.4	15.3			$15,893	$1,510	$14,382
Whitehall Ealy Elementary School	Public	3-5	425 E Sophia St	Whitehall	49461	Muskegon County	Whitehall District Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 893-1040	431	28	15.4	46.9%	355 (82.4%)	7 (1.6%)	35 (8.1%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.5%)	69	422^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	71.7%		68.5	433^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	70.9%	11	45.2	49.3	60.0	55.5	51.4	43.2	48.4	28.4			$13,766	$1,211	$12,555
Shoreline Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-2	205 E Market St	Whitehall	49461	Muskegon County	Whitehall District Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 893-1050	432	29	15.0	47.5%	361 (83.6%)	4 (0.9%)	29 (6.7%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34 (7.9%)								(n/a)									92%	2.9%	$16,445	$1,259	$15,186
Patricia St Clair Elementary School	Public	K-5	96 S Division St	Hesperia	49421	Newaygo County	Hesperia Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 854-6615	354	19	19.0	70.6%	311 (87.9%)	3 (0.8%)	23 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.2%)	16.8	1242^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	16.8%		22.6	1117^th of 1488 public elementary schools	24.9%	125	18.0	8.8	28.1	21.3	16.4	9.2	32.3	13.8	85.1%	12.8%	$18,197	$2,337	$15,861
Holton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	6245 Syers Rd	Holton	49425	Muskegon County	Holton Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 821-1825	338	25	13.5	72.5%	305 (90.2%)	4 (1.2%)	11 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.3%)	25.1	1081^st of 1492 public elementary schools	27.5%		25.5	1071^st of 1488 public elementary schools	28.0%	10	27.1	31.0	30.6	37.5	29.3	11.3	29.5	4.8	90%	6.7%	$16,911	$2,646	$14,264

Frequently Asked Questions about Shelby Elementary School

What district is Shelby Elementary School in?

Shelby Public Schools

Is Shelby Elementary School a good school?

Shelby Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10.8% of Michigan elementary schools.

How many students attend Shelby Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 433 students attended Shelby Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Shelby Elementary School?

Students at Shelby Elementary School are 51% White, 43% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Shelby Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Shelby Middle School
High : Shelby High School

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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.