Summary:
Zip code 48637 is served by a single elementary school, Merrill Elementary School, which enrolls 196 students in grades PK-5 as part of the Merrill Community Schools district.
For parents considering this area, Merrill Elementary presents a mixed picture. The school has shown a positive overall trajectory, improving its state ranking from the 50th percentile to the 59th percentile over the past three years, and it currently holds a 3-star rating. The school benefits from a very favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.7 and spends a substantial $17,641 per student. However, academic performance is highly inconsistent across grade levels. In the most recent school year, 3rd graders exceeded state averages in both ELA (41.9% vs. 38.2%) and math (51.6% vs. 42.9%), while 5th graders also outperformed the state in science (48.6% vs. 40.0%) and social studies (37.8% vs. 27.5%). The most concerning finding is a dramatic "4th grade slump," where proficiency rates fell far below state averages in both ELA (28.6% vs. 41.3%) and math (25.0% vs. 39.4%).
Year-over-year data reveals significant volatility, suggesting performance is heavily dependent on the specific cohort of students rather than a stable instructional model. For instance, 4th grade math proficiency plummeted from 51.4% to 25.0% between school years, while 5th grade math improved from 22.9% to 36.1%. With 59.18% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch and a chronic absenteeism rate of 26.6% (slightly below the state average of 27.9%), the school serves a predominantly economically disadvantaged population. Despite these challenges and the high per-student spending, the inconsistent results—particularly the severe 4th-grade drop—raise questions about how resources are being allocated to support students at every grade level. Parents should be aware that while the school shows clear strengths in upper elementary science and social studies, the 4th-grade year may present particular academic challenges.
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