Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 49461


At a glance
1
School
424
Students
Top rankedWhitehall Middle School367th of 896 Michigan middle schools
Summary:

Zip code 49461 is home to just one middle school, Whitehall Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 424 students as part of Whitehall District Schools.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Whitehall Middle School shows a clear split in performance by grade level. In the most recent data (2025-2026), 6th and 7th graders are outperforming state averages in both ELA and math—7th grade math proficiency is 43.4% versus the state’s 33.3%, a 10-point advantage. However, 8th graders fall well below state averages in every subject tested. The most dramatic gaps are in PSAT ELA (53.7% vs. 64.8% statewide) and science (29.3% vs. 39.2%). This pattern suggests the school builds strong foundational skills in the lower grades but struggles to maintain that momentum by 8th grade. The school’s overall state ranking reflects this volatility: it jumped to the 76th percentile (218th out of 890 schools) in 2024-2025, but is projected to drop to the 59th percentile (367th out of 896) in 2025-2026, a decline of 149 positions.

Looking at the broader picture, the school serves a moderate-need population, with 40% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch. Chronic absenteeism sits at 28.5%, slightly above the state average of 27.9%, which could be a contributing factor to the academic slide in upper grades. On the resource side, the school spends $15,272 per student and maintains a 16:1 student-teacher ratio, indicating reasonable funding levels. The sharpest concern is the year-over-year collapse in 8th-grade scores—science dropped nearly 20 points, and PSAT math fell 17 points from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. While some of this could be a cohort effect, the consistent decline across all 8th-grade subjects suggests that targeted interventions for this grade level, along with attendance improvement efforts, should be priorities for Whitehall District Schools.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




Cities Near Zip Code 49461

See the top MI Michigan cities
SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Diagnostics