Summary:
Zip code 48708 in Bay City, Michigan, is home to three elementary schools—Hampton Elementary School, Washington Elementary School, and MacGregor Elementary School—all serving grades PK-5 within the Bay City School District.
Hampton Elementary is the clear standout in this area. It ranks in the 30th percentile statewide, far ahead of Washington (15th percentile) and MacGregor (9th percentile). Hampton outperforms the other two schools in nearly every subject and grade level, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 23.3% is dramatically lower than Washington's 46.1% and MacGregor's 42.9%. Notably, Hampton achieves these results while spending less per student ($14,192) and having larger class sizes (16.6:1 student-teacher ratio) than its peers. Washington and MacGregor, which both spend over $17,000 per student and have smaller class sizes (12.0:1 and 11.3:1 respectively), still struggle significantly. Both schools serve populations where over 91% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch, compared to 68.67% at Hampton, and this economic disadvantage correlates strongly with their lower performance.
All three schools trail state averages in most subjects, though Hampton's 5th-grade science proficiency (40.3%) actually meets the state average. Washington shows promise in 3rd grade, outperforming Hampton in both ELA (29.1% vs. 23.0%) and math (27.3% vs. 18.0%), but these gains fade by 4th and 5th grades. MacGregor's 5th-grade math proficiency of just 6.38% is alarmingly low—less than one-fifth of the state average. The data suggests that addressing chronic absenteeism and providing targeted support for economically disadvantaged students may be more impactful than simply increasing funding or reducing class sizes, as the schools with more resources and smaller classes are not achieving better outcomes.
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