Highlander Way Middle School

Summary:

Highlander Way Middle School is a public middle school located in Howell, Michigan, serving 744 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Howell Public Schools district, which is ranked 206 out of 610 districts in the state.

Highlander Way Middle School has a predominantly white student population, with 90.86% of students identifying as white. The school's academic performance has been mixed, with proficiency rates in M-Step/English Language Arts and M-Step/Math for 6th and 7th grades generally on par with or slightly above the district average, but below the state average. However, the school's proficiency rates in M-Step/Science and M-Step/Social Studies for 8th grade were above the district and state averages. Concerning trends include a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 13.4% in 2018-2019 to 36.8% in 2020-2021, and a growing population of economically disadvantaged students, with the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch increasing from 27.87% in 2020-2021 to 34.14% in 2022-2023.

When compared to nearby middle schools, Highlander Way Middle School generally performs on par or slightly better than the nearby Parker Middle School, but lags behind higher-performing schools like Scranton Middle School (Brighton Area Schools) and Hartland Middle School at Ore Creek (Hartland Consolidated Schools) in academic proficiency and overall school rankings. The school's performance also varies across different student subgroups, with higher rankings for male students and Hispanic students, but relatively lower performance for special education students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 511 N Highlander Way
       Howell, MI  48843-1019


(517) 540-8270

District: Howell Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
285th of 897 Michigan Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,519 Help


Students who attend Highlander Way Middle School usually attend:

High:    Howell High School

Feeder schools for Highlander Way Middle School:

Elementary:    Challenger Elementary School
    Northwest Elementary School
    Ruahmah J Hutchings Elementary
    Voyager Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio:  16.9 Help
Number of students:  776

Racial breakdown:

White:
91.9%
Hispanic:
4.5%
Two or more races:
1.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  29.4% Help


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 Compare Highlander Way Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Highlander Way Middle School ranks better than 68.2% of middle schools in Michigan. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 60.19. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (91.9%), Hispanic (4.5%), two or more races (1.7%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 29.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Highlander Way Middle School is 16.9. (See more...)
Help
Compare Highlander Way Middle School employs 45.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Highlander Way Middle School is $13,519.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Highlander Way Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Highlander Way Middle School 285th of 897 Michigan public middle schools. (See Highlander Way Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Howell Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Howell Public Schools 206th of 610 Michigan school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Highlander Way Middle School?

Rank History for Highlander Way Middle School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 76.04 175th 806 78.3%
2007 75.79 180th 823 78.1%
2008 77.12 162nd 839 80.7%
2009 76.62 166th 847 80.4%
2010 71.36 263rd 851 69.1%
2011 76.37 166th 858 80.7%
2012 79.93 142nd 900 84.2%
2013 82.59 111th 919 87.9%
2014 81.31 124th 921 86.5%
2015 75.43 173rd 919 81.2%
2016 67.77 245th 894 72.6%
2017 62.83 251st 821 69.4%
2018 66.30 270th 838 67.8%
2019 61.73 252nd 792 68.2%
2021 65.82 176th 675 73.9%
2022 63.28 229th 776 70.5%
2023 58.89 293rd 883 66.8%
2024 60.19 285th 897 68.2%
See the entire list of Michigan Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 59.17 99th 377 73.7%
2022 32.45 43rd 70 38.6%
2023 44.88 101st 199 49.2%
2024 43.99 92nd 201 54.2%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 58.13 307th 815 62.3%
2019 62.66 197th 672 70.7%
2021 67.64 111th 523 78.8%
2022 46.74 352nd 691 49.1%
2023 39.35 493rd 825 40.2%
2024 47.12 398th 836 52.4%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 61.12 285th 794 64.1%
2019 56.66 248th 658 62.3%
2021 63.02 139th 521 73.3%
2022 60.00 202nd 657 69.3%
2023 48.53 345th 770 55.2%
2024 46.85 358th 771 53.6%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 67.53 223rd 797 72.0%
2019 58.13 224th 639 64.9%
2021 58.39 175th 540 67.6%
2022 57.25 232nd 658 64.7%
2023 59.87 245th 776 68.4%
2024 62.89 234th 786 70.2%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 53.18 113th 266 57.5%
2023 66.36 72nd 246 70.7%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Highlander Way Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 52.53 297th 678 56.2%
2019 50.25 280th 624 55.1%
2021 60.67 184th 577 68.1%
2022 55.09 239th 638 62.5%
2023 47.39 322nd 688 53.2%
2024 46.98 329th 701 53.1%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Michigan Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Highlander Way Middle School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: Michigan Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Highlander Way Middle School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 757 0 5 3 53 n/a n/a 0 818
1989 815 0 5 11 33 n/a n/a -6 858
1990 831 0 8 2 30 n/a n/a -2 869
1991 813 0 5 10 35 n/a n/a 0 863
1992 863 1 0 5 23 n/a n/a 0 892
1993 696 1 1 2 21 n/a n/a 0 721
1994 678 1 1 0 19 n/a n/a 0 699
1995 770 0 1 0 8 n/a n/a 0 779
1996 770 0 1 0 8 n/a n/a 0 779
1997 799 1 4 4 3 n/a n/a 0 811
1998 810 2 6 3 4 n/a n/a 0 825
1999 870 4 4 8 2 n/a n/a 0 888
2000 889 6 6 0 4 n/a n/a 0 905
2001 907 2 11 6 7 n/a n/a 0 933
2002 911 4 5 7 4 n/a n/a 0 931
2003 911 4 5 7 4 n/a n/a 0 931
2004 912 6 9 10 6 n/a n/a 0 943
2005 882 11 12 19 2 n/a n/a 0 926
2006 1040 8 9 24 7 n/a n/a 0 1088
2007 1070 6 11 25 11 n/a n/a 0 1123
2008 1057 6 17 16 15 n/a n/a 0 1111
2009 1051 6 21 18 11 n/a n/a 0 1107
2010 1025 5 15 23 9 n/a n/a 0 1077
2011 1040 7 15 22 15 4 3 0 1106
2012 1005 6 14 26 12 5 1 0 1069
2013 1035 6 11 20 10 4 2 0 1088
2014 926 7 9 27 9 2 7 0 987
2015 815 7 11 18 6 2 6 0 865
2016 766 6 11 30 9 1 13 0 836
2017 753 5 11 31 8 1 10 0 819
2018 771 4 9 42 7 1 15 0 849
2019 747 2 12 40 7 1 11 0 820
2020 744 2 11 40 3 0 11 0 811
2021 691 1 7 37 4 3 14 0 757
2022 686 2 8 38 2 4 15 0 755
2023 676 1 3 37 5 4 18 0 744
2024 713 2 6 35 4 3 13 0 776

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Highlander Way Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 818 n/a n/a n/a
1989 858 n/a n/a 3.8
1990 869 51.0 17.0 4.5
1991 863 n/a n/a n/a
1992 892 n/a n/a n/a
1993 721 n/a 0.0 5.1
1994 699 35.5 19.7 5.4
1995 779 35.2 22.1 5.4
1996 779 35.2 22.1 5.4
1997 811 40.0 20.3 7.4
1998 825 43.0 19.2 7.9
1999 888 47.0 18.9 6.2
2000 905 45.2 20.0 8.4
2001 933 49.6 18.8 11
2002 931 60.0 15.5 15.7
2003 931 60.0 15.5 15.7
2004 943 56.0 16.8 13.7
2005 926 50.6 18.3 15.7
2006 1088 61.4 17.7 17.6
2007 1123 62.0 18.1 20.9
2008 1111 55.1 20.2 24.4
2009 1107 57.8 19.2 27.2
2010 1077 58.7 18.3 28.6
2011 1106 54.7 20.2 29.7
2012 1069 54.1 19.7 34.3
2013 1088 51.6 21.0 30.6
2014 987 52.1 18.9 33
2015 865 51.0 16.9 32.6
2016 836 47.0 17.7 34.7
2017 819 50.7 16.1 24.7
2018 849 44.9 18.8 30.7
2019 820 43.2 18.9 26.5
2020 811 41.5 19.5 29.5
2021 757 42.0 18.0 27.9
2022 755 37.5 20.0 30.6
2023 744 40.8 18.2 34.1
2024 776 45.6 16.9 29.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Highlander Way Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 818 n/a n/a n/a
1989 858 n/a n/a 3.8
1990 869 51.0 17.0 4.5
1991 863 n/a n/a n/a
1992 892 n/a n/a n/a
1993 721 n/a 0.0 5.1
1994 699 35.5 19.7 5.4
1995 779 35.2 22.1 5.4
1996 779 35.2 22.1 5.4
1997 811 40.0 20.3 7.4
1998 825 43.0 19.2 7.9
1999 888 47.0 18.9 6.2
2000 905 45.2 20.0 8.4
2001 933 49.6 18.8 11
2002 931 60.0 15.5 15.7
2003 931 60.0 15.5 15.7
2004 943 56.0 16.8 13.7
2005 926 50.6 18.3 15.7
2006 1088 61.4 17.7 17.6
2007 1123 62.0 18.1 20.9
2008 1111 55.1 20.2 24.4
2009 1107 57.8 19.2 27.2
2010 1077 58.7 18.3 28.6
2011 1106 54.7 20.2 29.7
2012 1069 54.1 19.7 34.3
2013 1088 51.6 21.0 30.6
2014 987 52.1 18.9 33
2015 865 51.0 16.9 32.6
2016 836 47.0 17.7 34.7
2017 819 50.7 16.1 24.7
2018 849 44.9 18.8 30.7
2019 820 43.2 18.9 26.5
2020 811 41.5 19.5 29.5
2021 757 42.0 18.0 27.9
2022 755 37.5 20.0 30.6
2023 744 40.8 18.2 34.1
2024 776 45.6 16.9 29.4

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Highlander Way Middle School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $309 (3.3%) $9,099 (96.7%) $9,409
2020 $319 (3.2%) $9,715 (96.8%) $10,035
2021 $606 (5.6%) $10,266 (94.4%) $10,871
2022 $623 (5.3%) $11,207 (94.7%) $11,830
2023 $639 (4.7%) $12,880 (95.3%) $13,519

Data source: Michigan Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Highlander Way Middle School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 252nd of 792 Middle schoolsRanks 293rd of 883 Middle schools
 1.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (Highlander Way Middle School)4333.1
 9.9%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Howell Public Schools)44.533
 11.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)41.737.5
 4.2%
6th Grade Math (Highlander Way Middle School)36.724.3
 12.4%
   6th Grade Math (Howell Public Schools)38.427.5
 10.9%
   6th Grade Math (Michigan)35.129.6
 5.5%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Highlander Way Middle School)42.536.2
 6.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Howell Public Schools)4741.5
 5.5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)42.736.9
 5.8%
7th Grade Math (Highlander Way Middle School)38.732.7
 6%
   7th Grade Math (Howell Public Schools)39.635.7
 3.9%
   7th Grade Math (Michigan)35.731
 4.7%
8th Grade Social Studies (Highlander Way Middle School)36.828.1
 8.7%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Howell Public Schools)35.827
 8.8%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Michigan)2826.7
 1.3%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Highlander Way Middle School)67.469.1
 1.7%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Howell Public Schools)69.470
 0.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)61.959.7
 2.2%
8th Grade Mathematics (Highlander Way Middle School)47.440.9
 6.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Howell Public Schools)48.138.9
 9.2%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Michigan)41.436.3
 5.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students820744
 9.3%
African American21
 50%
American Indian75
 28.6%
Asian123
 75%
Hispanic4037
 7.5%
Pacific Islander14
 300%
White747676
 9.5%
Two or More Races1118
 63.6%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients26.5%34.1%
 7.7%


Schools Near Highlander Way Middle School









Frequently Asked Questions about Highlander Way Middle School

Students who attend Highlander Way Middle School usually go on to attend Howell High School

Students at Highlander Way Middle School are 92% White, 5% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

Highlander Way Middle School ranks 285th of 897 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

In the 2023-24 school year, 776 students attended Highlander Way Middle School.


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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.





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