Summary:
Zip code 48041, serving the community of Memphis, Michigan, is home to two schools within the Memphis Community Schools district, which together educate roughly 709 students across grades PK-12.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that this district offers a strong elementary foundation but a more uneven secondary experience. Memphis Elementary School is the clear academic leader, earning 4-star ratings for three consecutive years and consistently outperforming state averages across nearly every subject. Its 5th grade math proficiency rate of 63.6% is nearly double the state average—an extraordinary achievement. The school also benefits from a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.8:1, which likely contributes to its success. In contrast, Memphis Junior/Senior High School has shown dramatic improvement, climbing from the 29th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 50th percentile in 2025-2026, but it still lags behind its elementary counterpart. While 8th and 10th grade ELA scores slightly exceed state averages, 11th grade SAT math (16.7% proficiency), science (23.8%), and social studies (31%) all fall well below state levels—a significant performance cliff from the elementary years.
Despite these academic challenges at the secondary level, the high school excels in student outcomes. Its graduation rate of 98.2% far exceeds the state average of 84%, and its dropout rate of just 1.7% is remarkably low. Chronic absenteeism at both schools (17-18%) is well below the state rate of 27.9%, indicating strong community engagement. With moderate poverty levels (roughly 27-32% free/reduced lunch) and efficient resource allocation, the district demonstrates that it keeps students on track to graduate even when test scores are mixed. The key opportunity for Memphis Community Schools lies in translating the elementary school's proven academic strategies—particularly in math—to the secondary level, where recent improvement trends suggest positive momentum is already underway.
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