Summary:
Zip code 49431 is home to one elementary school, Ludington Elementary School, which serves grades PK through 5 within the Ludington Area School District.
For parents considering this area, Ludington Elementary is a large school with 911 students and a student-teacher ratio of 15.8 to 1, which is favorable for a school of this size. The district spends a substantial $15,541 per student, indicating a strong financial commitment to education. A standout positive is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of just 13.4%, which is less than half the state average of 27.9% and significantly better than the district average of 19.9%. This suggests a highly engaged student body and positive school climate. Academically, the school shows a clear strength in 5th-grade Social Studies, where proficiency rates (36.4% in the most recent year) have consistently outpaced the state average by roughly 9 percentage points. The district itself is well-regarded, ranking 131st out of 625 districts in Michigan with a 4-star rating.
However, there are areas of concern. The school's state ranking has been volatile, improving to 567 in 2024-2025 before dropping to 684 in the current year. More notably, there was a broad year-over-year decline in proficiency across almost all subjects and grades from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. For example, 5th-grade ELA fell from 48.4% to 41.3%, and 5th-grade Science dropped from 47.4% to 41.3%. In Math, performance is inconsistent: while 3rd and 5th graders beat the state average, 4th graders lag significantly behind (30.6% vs. 39.4% state average), pointing to a need for targeted intervention. With 53.24% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a community with moderate economic need. Despite high per-student spending and good attendance, the recent test score declines suggest that current resources are not yet translating into consistent academic gains, making this a school to watch closely for improvement trends.
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