Middle Schools in Walled Lake Consolidated Schools

The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools district in Michigan is home to three high-performing middle schools: Clifford H Smart Middle School, Walnut Creek Middle School, and Sarah G Banks Middle School. Among these, Clifford H Smart Middle School stands out as the top-performing school, consistently ranking among the best in the state with a statewide ranking of 71 out of 897 schools and a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Clifford H Smart Middle School's academic excellence is evident in its significantly higher test scores compared to the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For instance, in 2023-2024, 64.9% of 8th-grade students at Clifford H Smart were proficient or better in M-Step Science, compared to 57.1% for the district and 38.8% for the state. The school's demographic composition also differs from the other two, with a higher percentage of white students and a lower percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, which may contribute to its strong performance.

While Walnut Creek Middle School and Sarah G Banks Middle School also perform above the state average in most subject areas, they lag behind Clifford H Smart in overall academic achievement. The district-wide spending and student-teacher ratios do not appear to be the primary drivers of the schools' performance, as the differences in these metrics are relatively small. However, the high chronic absenteeism rates across all three schools, ranging from 16.1% at Clifford H Smart to 24.8% at Walnut Creek, could be an area of concern that the district may want to address.