Summary:
In zip code 49265, there is just one middle school option for families: Onsted Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and is part of the Onsted Community Schools district in a rural Michigan area.
Onsted Middle School is a solidly average school, earning a consistent 3-star rating from SchoolDigger for three straight years and ranking in the 53rd to 66th percentile statewide. With 243 students, the school maintains a favorable 12.3 student-teacher ratio and spends a substantial $18,092 per student. The most impressive academic highlight is 8th-grade English Language Arts on the PSAT, where 79.3% of students were proficient in the 2025-2026 school year—14.5 percentage points above the state average. However, math is a clear weakness in the lower grades: only 18% of 6th graders and 25.9% of 7th graders were proficient on the M-Step, both well below state averages of 31.9% and 33.3%. By 8th grade, math performance recovers to slightly above the state average on the PSAT (35.4% vs. 33.2%). Science (36.6% proficient) and social studies (42.7% proficient) in 8th grade both trail state averages, with social studies showing a notable 7.6-point gap.
About 40% of students are economically disadvantaged, and the chronic absenteeism rate of 26.5% is slightly below the state average of 27.9% but above the district's 23.8%. Test scores fluctuate noticeably year to year—for example, 7th-grade math proficiency dropped from 32.9% to 25.9% between school years, and 8th-grade science fell from 44.3% to 36.6%. This volatility is common with a small student body, where one cohort can significantly shift results. For parents, the key takeaway is that Onsted Middle School offers strong ELA instruction, particularly by 8th grade, but families should be aware of the math challenges in 6th and 7th grade. The school's high spending and low class sizes suggest resources are available, but they haven't yet translated into above-average performance across all subjects.
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