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Starr Elementary School

Summary:

Starr Elementary School is a public elementary school in Plainwell, Michigan, serving around 460 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Plainwell Community Schools district, which is ranked 241 out of 610 districts in Michigan and has a 3-star rating.

Starr Elementary stands out for its significantly higher percentage of white students (83.26%) compared to the state average and nearby schools like Cooper Elementary and Gilkey Elementary. However, the school has experienced a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.5% in 2018-2019 to 23.5% in 2022-2023, well above the state average. Academically, Starr Elementary's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (24.2%) and Math (29%) for 3rd-graders in 2023-2024 were significantly lower than the Plainwell Community Schools district (31.9%) and the state averages (39.6% and 43.4%, respectively). Additionally, 61.96% of Starr Elementary students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a much higher percentage than nearby schools.

Starr Elementary's performance has declined over the years, dropping from a 4-star rating in 2016-2017 to a 2-star rating in 2023-2024. This trend is concerning, and the school's leadership and the Plainwell Community Schools district should closely examine the root causes and develop a comprehensive plan to address the challenges, such as high chronic absenteeism and academic disparities among student subgroups. By learning from the higher-performing nearby schools, Starr Elementary can work to improve its outcomes and provide a better educational experience for its students.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 601 School Dr
       Plainwell, MI  49080-1582

(269) 685-5835

District: Plainwell Community Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
1000th of 1,486 Michigan Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,328 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  15.3 Help
Number of students:  460

Racial breakdown:

White:
83.3%
Two or more races:
8.3%
Hispanic:
7.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  62% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Starr Elementary School ranks worse than 67.3% of elementary schools in Michigan. It also ranks last among 3 ranked elementary schools in the Plainwell Community Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 31.39. (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 Starr Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Plainwell Community Schools District. Racial makeup is: White (83.3%), two or more races (8.3%), Hispanic (7.4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 62% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Plainwell Community Schools District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Starr Elementary School is 15.3, which is the lowest among 3 elementary schools in the Plainwell Community Schools District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Starr Elementary School employs 30 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Starr Elementary School is $14,328, which is the highest among 3 elementary schools in the Plainwell Community Schools District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Starr Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Starr Elementary School 1000th of 1486 Michigan public elementary schools. (See Starr Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


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


Plainwell Community Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Plainwell Community Schools 241st of 610 Michigan school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Starr Elementary School?

Rank History for Starr Elementary School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Starr Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 49.70 978th 1545 36.7%
2007 56.46 836th 1565 46.6%
2008 56.14 869th 1577 44.9%
2009 62.87 731st 1589 54.0%
2010 59.95 855th 1552 44.9%
2011 64.73 632nd 1552 59.3%
2012 59.10 650th 1566 58.5%
2013 60.95 616th 1563 60.6%
2014 56.08 717th 1533 53.2%
2015 49.93 830th 1580 47.5%
2016 58.95 622nd 1548 59.8%
2017 73.76 298th 1466 79.7%
2018 68.41 469th 1448 67.6%
2019 47.61 712th 1408 49.4%
2021 19.15 977th 1153 15.3%
2022 29.67 937th 1344 30.3%
2023 40.78 839th 1470 42.9%
2024 31.39 1000th 1486 32.7%
See the entire list of Michigan Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Starr Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 77.48 208th 1397 85.1%
2019 57.69 422nd 1134 62.8%
2021 24.77 629th 749 16.0%
2022 29.85 798th 1099 27.4%
2023 42.26 765th 1350 43.3%
2024 33.09 950th 1381 31.2%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Starr Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 62.52 548th 1443 62.0%
2019 46.24 632nd 1171 46.0%
2021 22.04 754th 902 16.4%
2022 22.64 898th 1106 18.8%
2023 37.78 797th 1321 39.7%
2024 33.49 875th 1342 34.8%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Starr Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 70.71 394th 1446 72.8%
2019 41.42 706th 1196 41.0%
2021 15.97 815th 915 10.9%
2022 31.41 789th 1139 30.7%
2023 36.82 832nd 1334 37.6%
2024 23.24 1035th 1347 23.2%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Starr Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 57.90 518th 1253 58.7%
2019 38.57 710th 1128 37.1%
2021 13.74 931st 1005 7.4%
2022 19.07 938th 1102 14.9%
2023 30.96 849th 1198 29.1%
2024 20.07 1019th 1204 15.4%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Elementary 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.

Starr Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 
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Data source: Michigan Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Starr Elementary School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 579 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 580
1989 594 1 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 596
1990 592 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 594
1991 602 3 1 4 0 n/a n/a 0 610
1992 608 2 5 4 0 n/a n/a 0 619
1993 594 2 5 4 0 n/a n/a 0 605
1995 398 1 3 7 0 n/a n/a 0 409
1996 398 1 3 7 0 n/a n/a 0 409
1997 554 3 5 5 0 n/a n/a 0 567
1998 577 3 3 7 0 n/a n/a 0 590
1999 567 6 5 6 0 n/a n/a 0 584
2000 567 11 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 580
2001 546 11 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 560
2002 522 15 2 2 2 n/a n/a 0 543
2003 522 15 2 2 2 n/a n/a 0 543
2004 532 14 2 1 2 n/a n/a 0 551
2005 510 10 1 1 1 n/a n/a 0 523
2006 539 16 1 7 1 n/a n/a 0 564
2007 531 15 3 5 1 n/a n/a 0 555
2008 544 15 3 6 1 n/a n/a 1 570
2009 546 12 2 5 0 n/a n/a 2 567
2010 511 18 2 7 1 n/a n/a 7 546
2011 493 10 0 14 1 2 3 0 523
2012 481 5 0 11 2 2 3 0 504
2013 491 5 1 17 1 1 10 0 526
2014 480 4 2 23 1 1 13 0 524
2015 462 8 3 35 3 0 6 0 517
2016 445 6 3 37 0 1 11 0 503
2017 448 9 3 42 1 1 13 0 517
2018 444 8 4 33 2 1 22 0 514
2019 418 6 3 29 1 1 25 0 483
2020 430 5 4 31 1 1 28 0 500
2021 389 4 1 31 1 1 25 0 452
2022 384 4 0 29 0 0 31 0 448
2023 383 5 0 34 0 0 38 0 460

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 Starr Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 580 n/a n/a n/a
1989 596 n/a n/a 15.6
1990 594 32.0 18.5 14
1991 610 n/a n/a n/a
1992 619 n/a n/a 24.2
1993 605 n/a 0.0 25.8
1995 409 15.0 27.3 23.5
1996 409 15.0 27.3 23.5
1997 567 17.0 33.4 12.3
1998 590 23.0 25.7 17.1
1999 584 35.0 16.7 17.5
2000 580 37.0 15.7 24.5
2001 560 33.5 16.7 23.2
2002 543 31.7 17.1 27.8
2003 543 31.7 17.1 27.8
2004 551 30.7 17.9 27.9
2005 523 29.9 17.5 25.8
2006 564 31.0 18.2 34.8
2007 555 30.1 18.4 34.1
2008 570 29.7 19.2 39.2
2009 567 28.7 19.8 45.7
2010 546 29.1 18.7 49.5
2011 523 28.5 18.3 48.8
2012 504 31.5 15.9 54
2013 526 29.5 17.8 52.7
2014 524 28.6 18.3 50.8
2015 517 31.0 16.6 45.8
2016 503 30.0 16.7 51.1
2017 517 29.5 17.5 48.4
2018 514 30.0 17.1 52.5
2019 483 33.0 14.6 42.2
2020 500 31.5 15.8 60.4
2021 452 28.6 15.8 55.5
2022 448 27.6 16.2 56.9
2023 460 30.0 15.3 62

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 Starr Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 580 n/a n/a n/a
1989 596 n/a n/a 15.6
1990 594 32.0 18.5 14
1991 610 n/a n/a n/a
1992 619 n/a n/a 24.2
1993 605 n/a 0.0 25.8
1995 409 15.0 27.3 23.5
1996 409 15.0 27.3 23.5
1997 567 17.0 33.4 12.3
1998 590 23.0 25.7 17.1
1999 584 35.0 16.7 17.5
2000 580 37.0 15.7 24.5
2001 560 33.5 16.7 23.2
2002 543 31.7 17.1 27.8
2003 543 31.7 17.1 27.8
2004 551 30.7 17.9 27.9
2005 523 29.9 17.5 25.8
2006 564 31.0 18.2 34.8
2007 555 30.1 18.4 34.1
2008 570 29.7 19.2 39.2
2009 567 28.7 19.8 45.7
2010 546 29.1 18.7 49.5
2011 523 28.5 18.3 48.8
2012 504 31.5 15.9 54
2013 526 29.5 17.8 52.7
2014 524 28.6 18.3 50.8
2015 517 31.0 16.6 45.8
2016 503 30.0 16.7 51.1
2017 517 29.5 17.5 48.4
2018 514 30.0 17.1 52.5
2019 483 33.0 14.6 42.2
2020 500 31.5 15.8 60.4
2021 452 28.6 15.8 55.5
2022 448 27.6 16.2 56.9
2023 460 30.0 15.3 62

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 Starr Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $821 (7.5%) $10,066 (92.5%) $10,887
2020 $912 (8.6%) $9,641 (91.4%) $10,553
2021 $1,278 (11.2%) $10,182 (88.8%) $11,460
2022 $1,791 (14.2%) $10,816 (85.8%) $12,608
2023 $2,410 (16.8%) $11,918 (83.2%) $14,328

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Starr Elementary 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 712th of 1408 Elementary schoolsRanks 839th of 1470 Elementary schools
 6.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 % proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Starr Elementary School)3645.7
 9.7%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)53.147.2
 5.9%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)45.140.9
 4.2%
3rd Grade Math (Starr Elementary School)38.726.1
 12.6%
   3rd Grade Math (Plainwell Community Schools)53.134.5
 18.6%
   3rd Grade Math (Michigan)46.742.9
 3.8%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Starr Elementary School)52.644
 8.6%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)61.348.2
 13.1%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)45.844.3
 1.5%
4th Grade Math (Starr Elementary School)51.334.7
 16.6%
   4th Grade Math (Plainwell Community Schools)53.842
 11.8%
   4th Grade Math (Michigan)41.838.6
 3.2%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Starr Elementary School)44.737.3
 7.4%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)55.552.5
 3%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)46.243.9
 2.3%
5th Grade Math (Starr Elementary School)47.436.2
 11.2%
   5th Grade Math (Plainwell Community Schools)54.142.8
 11.3%
   5th Grade Math (Michigan)34.831.5
 3.3%
5th Grade Social Studies (Starr Elementary School)14.58.5
 6%
   5th Grade Social Studies (Plainwell Community Schools)21.610.5
 11.1%
   5th Grade Social Studies (Michigan)17.418.6
 1.2%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)		 Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)		 Change (%)
Total Students483460
 4.8%
African American65
 16.7%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian30
 100%
Hispanic2934
 17.2%
Pacific Islander10
 100%
White418383
 8.4%
Two or More Races2538
 52%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients42.2%62%
 19.7%

Schools Near Starr Elementary School








Frequently Asked Questions about Starr Elementary School

Students at Starr Elementary School are 83% White, 8% Two or more races, 7% Hispanic, 1% African American.

Starr Elementary School ranks 1000th of 1486 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2022-23 school year, 460 students attended Starr Elementary 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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