Hoover Middle School

Hoover Middle School serves 515 students in grades 6 through 8 in Taylor, MI, a community where 87% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is part of the Taylor School District and has consistently ranked in the bottom 5-10% of Michigan middle schools over the past decade.

The most pressing challenge at Hoover is chronic absenteeism. In the 2024-2025 school year, 58.4% of students were chronically absent—meaning they missed 10% or more of school days—compared to the state average of 27.9%. This means roughly 6 out of 10 students are regularly missing class, making it nearly impossible for teachers to build momentum. Academic proficiency rates reflect this struggle: only 10.6% of 6th graders and 10.7% of 7th graders are proficient in English Language Arts, while math proficiency sits at just 5.6% and 6.5% respectively. These numbers are 5-6 times lower than state averages. The school spends a substantial $23,028 per student, which is higher than many neighboring schools, yet outcomes remain low—a sign that resources alone aren't solving the underlying attendance and engagement issues.

What makes Hoover's situation particularly striking is the comparison to nearby Dearborn City School District schools like Bryant Middle School and Stout Middle School, located just 3-5 miles away. These schools serve similar demographics but achieve proficiency rates 3-10 times higher, with chronic absenteeism at 26.4% and 34.9% respectively—less than half of Hoover's rate. Even Tomlinson Middle School in nearby Inkster, which serves an even more economically challenged population, shows that Hoover is not alone in struggling, though Hoover does outperform Tomlinson on most metrics. There are small signs of improvement—absenteeism dropped from 63.5% to 58.4% in the past year—but the gains are fragile. For parents considering Hoover, the priority must be understanding how the school plans to tackle attendance, as no amount of instruction can help students who aren't in the classroom.