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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Brimley Area School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
463
Combined
STATE 281
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BRIMLEY AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 260690004291
Brimley Area School
7134 S M 221, BRIMLEY, MI 49715 · (906) 248-3218 · Chippewa County
GRADES PK–12COMBINED42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL463 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 28% of Michigan public K-12 schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public K-12 schools
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
36 FTE teachers
STATE 17.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
162 students
STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 26 | 6% |
| Grade 1 | 35 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 20 | 4% |
| Grade 3 | 27 | 6% |
| Grade 4 | 31 | 7% |
| Grade 5 | 40 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 36 | 8% |
| Grade 7 | 33 | 7% |
| Grade 8 | 50 | 11% |
| Grade 9 | 45 | 10% |
| Grade 10 | 44 | 10% |
| Grade 11 | 42 | 9% |
| Grade 12 | 34 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (26) is 48% smaller than its 8th grade class (50).
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 56% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
54.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
46.6%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 47 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.8%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 51% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Michigan's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Brimley Area School
Brimley Area School's state test result (42.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brimley Area School this school | 463 | 35.0% | 42.9% |
| Cedarville School CEDARVILLE | 219 | 39.7% | 60.3% |
| Pickford Public Schools PICKFORD | 430 | 47.2% | 37.5% |
| Grand Rapids Montessori Academy GRAND RAPIDS | 297 | 41.8% | 38.9% |
| Leland Public School LELAND | 421 | 30.2% | 59.6% |
| Stephenson Area Public School STEPHENSON | 380 | 35.8% | 51.3% |
Matched among Michigan K-12 schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Brimley Area School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Chippewa County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.9% | #20 of 30 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 46.6% | #10 of 23 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.6% | #11 of 32 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 463 | #13 of 200 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #17 of 61 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.0% | #12 of 61 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.0% | #95 of 102 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +102.2% | #1 of 15 | N/A |
Ranked against other public K-12 schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
463
-53 (-10%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 540
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 14.7:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 463 | 36.4 | 12.7:1 | 35% (162) |
| 2023-24 | 451 | 35.6 | 12.7:1 | 53% (237) |
| 2022-23 | 460 | 35.7 | 12.9:1 | 52% (240) |
| 2020-21 | 516 | 35 | 14.7:1 | 57% (294) |
| 2017-18 | 229 | 15.3 | 15.0:1 | 55% (127) |
| 2015-16 | 241 | 16 | 15.1:1 | 51% (122) |
| 2010-11 | 230 | 15 | 15.3:1 | 41% (94) |
| 2000-01 | 568 | 40 | 14.2:1 | 42% (237) |
| 1990-91 | 540 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Brimley Area School.
Since 2017-18: students up 102% (229 to 463); teachers up 138% (15.3 to 36.4).
About Brimley Area School
Brimley Area School is classified as a school serving multiple grade levels. It is located in BRIMLEY, Michigan. Its grade span covers pre-K through 12, with 463 students on the rolls. That compares with an average of about 281 students for combined schools in Michigan.
The local education agency for Brimley Area School is Brimley Area Schools.
About 54% of the student body at Brimley Area School is Native American. Other students are 42% White. A diversity index of 53% means there is a 53% chance two randomly chosen students at Brimley Area School are from different groups.
Its staff includes 36.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 12.7 students per teacher. Across combined schools in Michigan, the average ratio is 17.3:1. Brimley Area School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 35%. Among public schools in Chippewa County, the average eligibility rate is 54%.
Among Michigan public K-12 schools, Brimley Area School outscored 28%, which works out to a C on the allk12 Grade.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Brimley Area School would be expected to post about 50.8%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 42.9%.
Chippewa County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $62,217 a year, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Chippewa County number 22, with about 4,835 students.
Ojibwe Charter School is about 3.6 miles away, making it the nearest public school. There are 2 more public schools inside ten miles.
NCES assigns Brimley Area School the locale Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment decreased 10%. By 2024-25, the school had 12.7 students per teacher, compared with 14.7 in 2020-21.
The discussion board for Brimley Area School is open to topics like athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Chippewa County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
36,295
Census ACS
Median income
$62,217
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
4,835 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- Ojibwe Charter School3.6 mi · 125
- Lake Superior Academy8.1 mi · 93
- Malcolm High School10.4 mi · 71
- EUPISD Learning Center10.7 mi · 56
- Consolidated Community School Services11.0 mi · 59
- Washington Elementary School11.8 mi · 195
Frequently asked questions
About Brimley Area SchoolHow large is Brimley Area School?
Brimley Area School enrolls approximately 463 students in grades PK-12.
What age range does Brimley Area School serve?
Brimley Area School serves students from grade PK through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Brimley Area School?
Approximately 12.7:1 students per teacher at Brimley Area School.
How diverse is Brimley Area School?
Brimley Area School reports a student body of 42% White, 1% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
Is Brimley Area School public or private?
Brimley Area School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Brimley Area Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.