Summary:
ZIP code 49038 is served by the four schools of Coloma Community Schools in Coloma, Michigan, a district of roughly 1,095 students across elementary through high school grades, where a majority of students (64-79%) qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Within this small district, Coloma High School is the clear standout. It holds the district's highest state ranking (37th percentile), posts an 86.9% graduation rate that beats the state average, and has the lowest chronic absenteeism at 24.7%. It also achieved the district's only above-state-average subject score, hitting 48.4% proficiency in Social Studies. In contrast, Coloma Intermediate School (serving grades 4-5) has the highest poverty rate (78.9%) and the lowest state ranking, though it also boasts the best attendance record. Coloma Junior High School shows a notable bright spot in 8th grade Social Studies (42.2% proficiency), which actually exceeds the high school's 11th grade score by a wide margin. Coloma Elementary School is improving in ELA but struggles most with attendance, as 34.9% of its youngest students are chronically absent.
The most urgent issue is a district-wide math crisis, with proficiency rates ranging from just 10.5% to 21.3%—far below state averages of 26.5-42.9% at every grade level. Parents should also note extreme year-over-year volatility, such as an 11th grade Social Studies plunge from 48.4% to 24.6% and a 3rd grade math drop of 12.4 points, which may signal inconsistent instruction or curriculum shifts. On a positive note, students perform much closer to state averages on PSAT exams, with 10th grade ELA essentially matching the state, suggesting content knowledge may be stronger than M-Step scores indicate. Spending ranges from $14,116 to $16,173 per student, but higher spending does not correlate with better outcomes, as the highest-spending elementary school has the worst attendance.
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