Summary:
Zip code 49265 is home to just one high school, Onsted Community High School, a small rural school serving 365 students in grades 9-12 within the Onsted Community Schools district, where about a third of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Onsted is a school of notable strengths and significant inconsistencies. The school excels at keeping students enrolled: its graduation rate of 87.5% tops the state average of 84.0%, and its dropout rate of just 3.1% is less than half the state's 7.1%. Academically, 11th graders outperform the state in science by nearly 11 percentage points, and 9th graders show a remarkable 13.6-point advantage in ELA proficiency. However, these bright spots are tempered by a chronic absenteeism rate of 33.5%, which is well above both the district's own 23.8% and the state's 27.9%. This suggests that while instruction is effective when students are present, many are missing valuable learning time.
The school's performance is also highly volatile from year to year. Its state ranking has swung from the 20th percentile (1 star) to the 80th percentile (4 stars) and back to the 67th percentile (3 stars) over three years. Most concerning is a dramatic 20.6-point drop in 11th-grade SAT Reading/Writing proficiency between 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, alongside declines in math and social studies. Math proficiency remains a persistent weakness, hovering near or below state averages across all grade levels. With per-student spending of $13,912 and a high student-teacher ratio of 20.9:1, efficiency is also a question. In short, Onsted offers strong retention and science programs, but families should be aware of attendance issues, inconsistent test scores, and a clear need for improvement in math.
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