Summary:
Middle schools in zip code 48170 (Plymouth/Canton, Michigan) serve grades 6-8 across four schools within the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools district, which ranks in the 83rd percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout choice is East Middle School, ranking in the 98th percentile (top 2% of Michigan middle schools) with 5 stars. It leads all four schools in nearly every subject and grade level—for example, 7th grade math proficiency is 73.4% versus 67.5% at Pioneer Middle School, 48.4% at West Middle School, and 53.2% at Liberty Middle School. Pioneer is a strong second, ranking 95th percentile with consistent year-over-year improvement. West Middle ranks 91st percentile but shows notable volatility between grade levels and years. Liberty Middle School is the relative underperformer at 87th percentile, though still above state averages. All four schools significantly outperform state proficiency averages, with even Liberty exceeding state math scores by 8-15 percentage points.
Key differentiators beyond test scores include socioeconomic factors and resource allocation. Liberty Middle School has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (26.07%) and chronic absenteeism (20.7%), which correlates with its lower academic performance despite having the lowest student-teacher ratio (17.9) and second-highest per-student spending ($15,739). Meanwhile, Pioneer Middle School spends the least per student ($14,245) yet achieves better results than West Middle School, which spends the most ($16,038). This suggests spending alone doesn't drive success. Chronic absenteeism is a clear factor—the three higher-performing schools cluster tightly at 16.4-16.6% absenteeism, while Liberty's 20.7% stands out. Additionally, 8th grade PSAT ELA scores are uniformly high (80-86%) across all schools, but math scores vary widely (45-74%), making math the subject where school choice matters most.
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