Summary:
In zip code 48854, there is exactly one middle school serving grades 6 through 8: Mason Middle School, part of the Mason Public Schools (Ingham) district, which enrolls 778 students in a largely residential area with relatively low economic disadvantage.
Mason Middle School is a strong performer overall, with its district ranked 139th out of 625 in Michigan (78th percentile, 4-star rating). The school consistently beats state averages in most subjects and grades, with a standout 8th-grade PSAT English Language Arts proficiency rate of 72.4% compared to the state’s 64.8%. However, there is a clear split between subjects: 8th-grade PSAT math proficiency is just 35.3%, barely above the state average of 33.2%, and less than half the ELA rate. A notable anomaly is 7th-grade ELA, where proficiency (35.4%) actually falls below the state average (38.4%), even though 6th and 8th-grade ELA are strong. The school’s student-teacher ratio of 14.7 is favorable, and per-student spending is $13,792, with about 30% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Chronic absenteeism at Mason Middle School is 24.6%, which is better than the state average of 27.9% but notably higher than the district’s overall rate of 21.3%, suggesting attendance is a bigger challenge at the middle school level. Academic results also show year-over-year volatility—for example, 6th-grade ELA proficiency rose from 40.7% to 45.7%, while 8th-grade science dropped from 51.9% to 44.7%. Despite strong absolute scores, the school’s state percentile rank has slipped from 80 to 74 over two years, meaning other schools are improving faster. For parents, this is a solid, above-average school with excellent ELA instruction, but math achievement and 7th-grade reading deserve attention, as does the absenteeism gap relative to the district.
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