Summary:
The 49002 zip code area in Michigan is home to two elementary schools - Lake Center Elementary School and Central Elementary School, both part of the Portage Public Schools district. Based on the available data, Lake Center Elementary stands out as the higher-performing school in the area.
Lake Center Elementary consistently achieves higher test scores across all grade levels and subject areas compared to Central Elementary and the district/state averages. In 2024-2025, 60.9% of 5th graders at Lake Center were proficient in ELA, compared to 58.2% at Central and 56.5% district-wide. Lake Center also has a higher school ranking, placing in the top 258 elementary schools in Michigan, while Central ranks 415. Additionally, Lake Center has a lower chronic absenteeism rate of 29.5% compared to 35.79% at Central, and it spends less per student ($14,711) than Central ($16,490), suggesting it is more cost-effective.
While both schools perform above the state average in most areas, there are notable performance gaps between the two. For example, in 4th grade math in 2024-2025, 68.4% of students at Lake Center were proficient compared to only 33.9% at Central. This difference could be attributed to the higher free/reduced lunch rate at Central, indicating it serves a more economically disadvantaged student population. Nevertheless, Lake Center has maintained its strong performance over the past few years, ranking in the top 25% of Michigan elementary schools consistently, suggesting it has established effective practices and programs.
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