Summary:
Zip code 49240 is home to just one public high school, Grass Lake High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 within the Grass Lake Community Schools district, a small, rural district with a total enrollment of 394 students.
For parents considering this area, Grass Lake High School stands out most for its exceptional student retention. The school posts a 90.5% graduation rate versus the state’s 84.0%, and its dropout rate is just 1.1% compared to 7.1% statewide. Chronic absenteeism, while still affecting one in five students, is also notably better than the Michigan average (20.1% vs. 27.9%). Academically, the school has shown recent strength in younger grades: 9th and 10th graders significantly outperform state averages in English Language Arts on the PSAT (68.2% and 68.9% proficiency, respectively). However, 11th-grade results are mixed. In the 2024-2025 school year, students beat state averages on the SAT in both reading (60.9% vs. 55.4%) and math (32.2% vs. 27.5%), but preliminary 2025-2026 data shows a sharp dip, with 11th graders falling below state averages in science, social studies, and SAT reading. This suggests a possible cohort effect or a recent instructional shift that has yet to benefit upperclassmen.
The district itself is ranked 167th out of 625 in Michigan (73rd percentile) with a 4-star rating. With 29.44% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a moderately diverse economic population. Per-student spending is $13,662, but the student-teacher ratio of 19.7 is on the higher side, which may mean larger class sizes. The strong graduation and low dropout rates, despite academic proficiency in math and science hovering below 40%, point to a supportive environment that prioritizes keeping students on track. For families, this is a school that excels at student support and retention, though recent 11th-grade test scores warrant monitoring to see if the current trend reverses.
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