Summary:
Zip code 48444 is home to just one public high school, Imlay City High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 as part of the Imlay City Community Schools district in a mid-sized, predominantly rural area of Michigan.
For parents considering this school, the standout feature is its exceptional graduation rate of 96.9%, which is nearly 13 percentage points above the state average of 84.0%, paired with a very low dropout rate of just 2.2%. This is particularly impressive given that over half of the student body (54.33%) qualifies for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty population. The school also shows genuine strength in early high school English: 9th graders score 4.4 points above the state average on the PSAT ELA, and 10th graders remain above average as well. However, this advantage fades by junior year, when SAT reading/writing scores fall to essentially the state average. The school’s biggest academic challenges are in math and social studies. SAT math proficiency is just 20.4% versus 26.5% statewide, and social studies trails by a significant 8.4 points (34.8% vs. 43.2%). Science is a bright spot, having improved year-over-year to slightly exceed the state average.
Operationally, the school has a notably high student-teacher ratio of 25.1:1, even though per-student spending is a substantial $13,943. Chronic absenteeism is a concern, affecting 32.0% of students compared to 27.9% statewide, yet the school still manages to graduate nearly all of its students. After a dip in the 2024-2025 school year, the school’s state ranking has rebounded to #328 out of 800 schools (59th percentile), earning a 3-star rating. In short, Imlay City High School excels at keeping students on track to graduate and builds strong literacy skills early, but families should be aware that math and social studies proficiency lag state averages and that class sizes are relatively large.
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