Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 48601

Zip code 48601 in Saginaw, MI is home to two middle schools serving grades 6 through 8: BridgeportSpaulding Middle SchoolSchrah and Saginaw Middle School, both serving predominantly low-income student populations where over 94% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Neither school ranks well academically, but BridgeportSpaulding Middle SchoolSchrah is the stronger of the two. It ranks in the 7th percentile statewide (832 out of 896), compared to Saginaw Middle School which sits in the 1st percentile (884 out of 896). BridgeportSpaulding also has a much lower student-to-teacher ratio (17.4 vs. 26.8) and spends less per student ($15,700 vs. $22,594). Despite the higher spending at Saginaw Middle, its outcomes are worse, suggesting money alone isn't solving the challenges. Chronic absenteeism is a crisis at both schools: 54.8% at BridgeportSpaulding and a staggering 69.8% at Saginaw Middle, both far above the state average of 27.9%. In 6th-grade ELA, BridgeportSpaulding students scored 10.3% proficient versus 4.96% at Saginaw Middle, while the state average is 37.5%.

There are some bright spots at BridgeportSpaulding Middle SchoolSchrah. Its 8th-grade Social Studies proficiency jumped from 6.1% to 14.7% year-over-year, and PSAT English Language Arts improved from 34.4% to 41.4%. However, a stark gap exists within the school: 41.4% proficiency in PSAT ELA versus just 4.31% in PSAT math. Saginaw Middle School, part of the Saginaw School District of the City of, has only one year of ranking data, suggesting it may be newly reorganized. Meanwhile, BridgeportSpaulding Middle SchoolSchrah belongs to the Bridgeport-Spaulding Community School District and shows more stability. Both schools face immense challenges, with proficiency rates often 10 times lower than state averages, highlighting significant educational inequity in this area.