Plainwell Middle School

Summary:

Plainwell Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in Plainwell, Michigan, with a student population of 596. 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 from SchoolDigger.

Plainwell Middle School faces several challenges, including below-average academic performance, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math around 30% for 6th and 7th grades, compared to the state averages of 37.5% and 31-32.1%, respectively. The school has also experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.8% in 2020-2021 to 22.5% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the state average. Additionally, the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch has increased from 34.26% in 2020-2021 to 41.28% in 2022-2023, suggesting a growing population of economically disadvantaged students.

While Plainwell Middle School performs better than some nearby schools, such as Milwood Magnet School and Linden Grove Middle School, it lags behind higher-performing schools like Gull Lake Middle School and Otsego Middle School. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined from the top 25% of Michigan middle schools in 2014-2015 to the middle 50% in recent years, indicating potential challenges in maintaining its academic performance.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 720 Brigham St
       Plainwell, MI  49080-1574


(269) 685-5813

District: Plainwell Community Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
348th of 897 Michigan Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $13,265 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  17.7 Help
Number of students:  596

Racial breakdown:

White:
86.7%
Hispanic:
6.5%
Two or more races:
4.5%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  41.3% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Plainwell Middle School ranks better than 61.2% of middle schools in Michigan. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 54.16. (See more...)
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Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 (86.7%), Hispanic (6.5%), two or more races (4.5%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 41.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Plainwell Middle School is 17.7. (See more...)
Help
Compare Plainwell Middle School employs 33.6 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Plainwell Middle School is $13,265.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Plainwell Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Plainwell Middle School 348th of 897 Michigan public middle schools. (See Plainwell Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Hispanic 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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Rank History for Plainwell Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 74.87 187th 806 76.8%
2007 73.92 203rd 823 75.3%
2008 73.81 202nd 839 75.9%
2009 69.11 294th 847 65.3%
2010 73.72 206th 851 75.8%
2011 65.03 344th 858 59.9%
2012 75.30 179th 900 80.1%
2013 71.93 215th 919 76.6%
2014 74.91 186th 921 79.8%
2015 80.18 135th 919 85.3%
2016 71.67 210th 894 76.5%
2017 69.72 186th 821 77.3%
2018 70.08 233rd 838 72.2%
2019 63.87 234th 792 70.5%
2021 47.36 311th 675 53.9%
2022 57.85 274th 776 64.7%
2023 54.10 342nd 883 61.3%
2024 54.16 348th 897 61.2%
See the entire list of Michigan Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 36.40 110th 176 37.5%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 74.51 46th 377 87.8%
2024 34.44 126th 201 37.3%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 62.09 257th 815 68.5%
2019 56.43 259th 672 61.5%
2021 38.53 327th 523 37.5%
2022 44.31 380th 691 45.0%
2023 40.80 479th 825 41.9%
2024 43.17 445th 836 46.8%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 70.08 204th 794 74.3%
2019 64.47 197th 658 70.1%
2021 48.96 217th 521 58.3%
2022 49.34 288th 657 56.2%
2023 50.65 321st 770 58.3%
2024 56.51 263rd 771 65.9%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 66.54 228th 797 71.4%
2019 54.90 240th 639 62.4%
2021 36.45 329th 540 39.1%
2022 56.06 249th 658 62.2%
2023 47.92 351st 776 54.8%
2024 42.90 432nd 786 45.0%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 57.26 96th 266 63.9%
2023 72.39 50th 246 79.7%
2024 83.41 27th 257 89.5%
See the entire list of Best Michigan Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Plainwell Middle School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MI State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 55.43 274th 678 59.6%
2019 50.90 276th 624 55.8%
2021 39.53 327th 577 43.3%
2022 47.49 298th 638 53.3%
2023 42.40 363rd 688 47.2%
2024 39.95 395th 701 43.7%
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.

Plainwell 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 Plainwell Middle School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 526 1 1 2 0 n/a n/a 0 530
1989 526 5 1 2 0 n/a n/a 0 534
1990 535 3 3 2 0 n/a n/a 0 543
1991 557 2 0 6 0 n/a n/a 9 574
1992 618 2 0 8 0 n/a n/a 0 628
1993 588 6 2 9 0 n/a n/a 0 605
1995 594 5 6 15 0 n/a n/a 0 620
1996 594 5 6 15 0 n/a n/a 0 620
1997 619 7 5 17 0 n/a n/a 0 648
1998 613 3 5 9 0 n/a n/a 0 630
1999 623 3 6 5 0 n/a n/a 0 637
2000 625 2 10 6 1 n/a n/a 0 644
2001 601 5 8 7 1 n/a n/a 0 622
2002 665 7 3 8 0 n/a n/a 0 683
2003 665 7 3 8 0 n/a n/a 0 683
2004 694 8 4 12 0 n/a n/a 1 719
2005 644 7 4 11 2 n/a n/a 1 669
2006 652 5 5 10 2 n/a n/a 1 675
2007 655 9 3 6 2 n/a n/a 2 677
2008 652 11 3 8 1 n/a n/a 2 677
2009 613 17 7 7 2 n/a n/a 3 649
2010 612 20 5 7 2 n/a n/a 1 647
2011 592 12 3 17 0 2 12 0 638
2012 578 15 2 14 2 1 9 0 621
2013 565 8 4 11 1 3 7 0 599
2014 594 11 5 11 1 1 9 0 632
2015 548 13 9 17 0 2 0 0 589
2016 578 10 7 32 2 1 4 0 634
2017 557 9 13 35 3 0 6 0 623
2018 569 6 10 31 3 0 7 0 626
2019 585 5 11 35 2 0 10 0 648
2020 602 5 7 31 2 1 19 0 667
2021 575 8 9 31 2 1 19 0 645
2022 528 7 6 34 1 0 27 0 603
2023 517 10 2 39 1 0 27 0 596

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 Plainwell Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 530 n/a n/a n/a
1989 534 n/a n/a 20.2
1990 543 37.0 14.6 14.7
1991 574 n/a n/a n/a
1992 628 n/a n/a 15.4
1993 605 n/a 0.0 14.2
1995 620 35.0 17.7 9.4
1996 620 35.0 17.7 9.4
1997 648 37.0 17.5 13
1998 630 38.0 16.6 13.3
1999 637 39.0 16.3 13.7
2000 644 40.0 16.1 15.4
2001 622 40.0 15.6 14.6
2002 683 44.8 15.2 23.3
2003 683 44.8 15.2 23.3
2004 719 43.3 16.6 21.3
2005 669 39.9 16.8 24.3
2006 675 40.2 16.8 24.8
2007 677 39.5 17.1 20.4
2008 677 36.8 18.4 27
2009 649 36.1 18.0 29.3
2010 647 35.4 18.2 32.2
2011 638 35.6 17.9 32
2012 621 36.0 17.2 33.5
2013 599 34.0 17.6 36.2
2014 632 32.0 19.7 38
2015 589 34.0 17.3 31.9
2016 634 30.0 21.1 37.1
2017 623 31.3 19.9 33.7
2018 626 33.0 18.9 34.2
2019 648 31.8 20.3 28.7
2020 667 33.6 19.8 36.9
2021 645 33.3 19.3 34.3
2022 603 33.2 18.1 38.5
2023 596 33.6 17.7 41.3

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 Plainwell Middle School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 530 n/a n/a n/a
1989 534 n/a n/a 20.2
1990 543 37.0 14.6 14.7
1991 574 n/a n/a n/a
1992 628 n/a n/a 15.4
1993 605 n/a 0.0 14.2
1995 620 35.0 17.7 9.4
1996 620 35.0 17.7 9.4
1997 648 37.0 17.5 13
1998 630 38.0 16.6 13.3
1999 637 39.0 16.3 13.7
2000 644 40.0 16.1 15.4
2001 622 40.0 15.6 14.6
2002 683 44.8 15.2 23.3
2003 683 44.8 15.2 23.3
2004 719 43.3 16.6 21.3
2005 669 39.9 16.8 24.3
2006 675 40.2 16.8 24.8
2007 677 39.5 17.1 20.4
2008 677 36.8 18.4 27
2009 649 36.1 18.0 29.3
2010 647 35.4 18.2 32.2
2011 638 35.6 17.9 32
2012 621 36.0 17.2 33.5
2013 599 34.0 17.6 36.2
2014 632 32.0 19.7 38
2015 589 34.0 17.3 31.9
2016 634 30.0 21.1 37.1
2017 623 31.3 19.9 33.7
2018 626 33.0 18.9 34.2
2019 648 31.8 20.3 28.7
2020 667 33.6 19.8 36.9
2021 645 33.3 19.3 34.3
2022 603 33.2 18.1 38.5
2023 596 33.6 17.7 41.3

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 Plainwell Middle School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $252 (2.9%) $8,431 (97.1%) $8,683
2020 $305 (3.6%) $8,239 (96.4%) $8,544
2021 $533 (5.3%) $9,496 (94.7%) $10,029
2022 $732 (6.3%) $10,800 (93.7%) $11,531
2023 $906 (6.8%) $12,359 (93.2%) $13,265

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Plainwell 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 234th of 792 Middle schoolsRanks 342nd of 883 Middle schools
 9.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Middle School)45.527.5
 18%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)45.527.5
 18%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)41.737.5
 4.2%
6th Grade Math (Plainwell Middle School)35.927.4
 8.5%
   6th Grade Math (Plainwell Community Schools)35.927.4
 8.5%
   6th Grade Math (Michigan)35.129.6
 5.5%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Middle School)45.933.7
 12.2%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)45.933.7
 12.2%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)42.736.9
 5.8%
7th Grade Math (Plainwell Middle School)42.232.6
 9.6%
   7th Grade Math (Plainwell Community Schools)42.232.6
 9.6%
   7th Grade Math (Michigan)35.731
 4.7%
8th Grade Social Studies (Plainwell Middle School)2928.3
 0.7%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Plainwell Community Schools)2928.3
 0.7%
   8th Grade Social Studies (Michigan)2826.7
 1.3%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Middle School)72.569.9
 2.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Plainwell Community Schools)72.569.9
 2.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Michigan)61.959.7
 2.2%
8th Grade Mathematics (Plainwell Middle School)5434.7
 19.3%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Plainwell Community Schools)5434.7
 19.3%
   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 Students648596
 8%
African American510
 100%
American Indian21
 50%
Asian112
 81.8%
Hispanic3539
 11.4%
Pacific Islander00
White585517
 11.6%
Two or More Races1027
 170%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients28.7%41.3%
 12.6%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Plainwell Middle School

Students at Plainwell Middle School are 87% White, 7% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% African American.

In the 2022-23 school year, 596 students attended Plainwell Middle School.

Plainwell Middle School ranks 348th of 897 Michigan middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.


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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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