Summary:
Zip code 48316 in Shelby Township, Michigan, is served by two public middle schools, Malow Junior High School and Shelby Junior High School, both part of the Utica Community Schools district and both serving grades 7 through 9 with enrollments of roughly 1,080 students each.
These two schools are both high-performing, but they have notably different academic strengths. Malow Junior High School is the clear leader in STEM subjects, posting significantly higher proficiency rates in 7th-grade math (49.9% vs. 42.4%), 8th-grade math PSAT (55.5% vs. 41.8%), and 8th-grade science (61% vs. 54.8%) compared to Shelby Junior High School. Conversely, Shelby Junior High School shows a slight edge in English Language Arts on the 7th-grade M-Step (48.7% vs. 43.4%) and in social studies (63.4% vs. 62%). Both schools earn a 4-star rating and rank in the top 16% of Michigan middle schools, with Malow ranked 112th and Shelby ranked 145th out of 896 schools. They have nearly identical socioeconomic profiles, with about 28% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, yet both achieve proficiency rates well above state averages, indicating effective support for their student bodies.
One of the most interesting findings is that Shelby Junior High School spends over $1,100 more per student ($14,820 vs. $13,683) than Malow Junior High School, yet Malow generally achieves higher test scores and state rankings, suggesting greater efficiency in resource use. Both schools have impressively low chronic absenteeism rates (13.4% for Malow and 16.0% for Shelby) compared to the state average of 27.9%, reflecting positive school climates. Additionally, Malow demonstrated strong year-over-year growth in 8th-grade math PSAT scores, jumping from 46.1% to 55.5% proficiency, while Shelby experienced a slight decline in 8th-grade science scores from 57.5% to 54.8%.
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