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What's the biggest difference between Central Grade School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
510
Elementary
DISTRICT 341 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TRAVERSE CITY AREA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 263387006937
Central Grade School
301 W SEVENTH ST, TRAVERSE CITY, MI 49684 · (231) 933-5910 · Grand Traverse County
GRADES PK–07ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL510 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of Michigan public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
216 students
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 56 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 67 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 77 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 109 | 21% |
| Grade 5 | 123 | 24% |
| Grade 6 | 2 | 0% |
| Grade 7 | 3 | 1% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 21% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Central Grade School→Central High School
Based on grade levels within Traverse City Area Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
63.3%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
52.7%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 53 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
56.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.5%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Central Grade School
Central Grade School's state test result (56.5% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Grade School this school | 510 | 42.4% | 56.5% |
| Seymour Elementary School FLUSHING | 498 | 38.8% | 49.6% |
| Issac Monfort Elementary School SHELBY TOWNSHIP | 525 | 43.0% | 53.6% |
| Page Elementary School MIDDLEVILLE | 484 | 44.0% | 42.1% |
| Chestnut Hill Elementary School MIDLAND | 416 | 42.3% | 40.4% |
| HarveySwanson Elementary School ORTONVILLE | 548 | 43.8% | 35.9% |
Matched among Michigan elementary 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 Central Grade School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Grand Traverse County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.5% | #283 of 1,085 | #4 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 52.7% | #371 of 1,072 | #4 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #192 of 1,139 | #4 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 510 | #259 of 1,630 | #2 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #968 of 1,424 | #10 of 14 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.6% | #829 of 1,424 | #3 of 14 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.4% | #1,016 of 1,563 | #5 of 16 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.7% | #244 of 979 | #3 of 8 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
510
-55 (-10%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 482
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 18.2:1
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 | 510 | 30 | 17.0:1 | 42% (216) |
| 2023-24 | 537 | 30.9 | 17.4:1 | 47% (252) |
| 2022-23 | 516 | 29.3 | 17.6:1 | 47% (243) |
| 2020-21 | 565 | 31 | 18.2:1 | 39% (223) |
| 2017-18 | 635 | 39.2 | 16.2:1 | 43% (274) |
| 2015-16 | 643 | 38 | 16.9:1 | 33% (212) |
| 2010-11 | 517 | 26 | 19.9:1 | 52% (271) |
| 2000-01 | 450 | 24 | 18.8:1 | 26% (116) |
| 1990-91 | 482 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Grade School.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (635 to 510); teachers down 23% (39.2 to 30).
About Central Grade School
Central Grade School is a mid-sized elementary school in TRAVERSE CITY, Michigan. It is open to students in pre-K through 7 and enrolls 510 students. That is 38% bigger than the average of about 369 students for elementary schools in Michigan.
Federal data list 16 schools in Traverse City Area Public Schools, with 8,546 students enrolled.
Roughly 84% of students at Central Grade School are White. Enrollment also includes 5% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 3% Black, and 3% Native American. Among people living in Grand Traverse County, the White share is about 92%. The diversity index for Central Grade School is 30%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 17.0:1. The school has 30 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan is 1.2 students per teacher. In all, 42% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The gap from the 31% average for public schools in Grand Traverse County is 11 points.
Among Michigan public elementary schools, Central Grade School outscored 80%, which works out to an A- on the allk12 Grade.
Central Grade School's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (56.5%) and its predicted rate (47.5%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Michigan schools.
For Grand Traverse County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $81,647, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 41%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. There are 32 public schools in the county, enrolling about 12,069, Central Grade School among them.
Central Grade School is about 1.1 miles from North EdCreekside School, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools.
Central Grade School falls in the City: Small locale category, used for schools inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Federal enrollment counts decreased from 565 (2020-21) to 510 (2024-25). From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 18.2:1 to 17.0:1.
People can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Grand Traverse County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
96,166
Census ACS
Median income
$81,647
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
32
12,069 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Traverse City Area Public Schools
- West Senior HighHigh · 1,384 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,326 students
- West Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,081 students
- East Middle SchoolMiddle · 829 students
- Eastern Elementary SchoolElementary · 475 students
- Willow Hill Elementary SchoolElementary · 429 students
Other schools in TRAVERSE CITY
- West Senior HighHigh · 1,384 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,326 students
- West Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,081 students
- East Middle SchoolMiddle · 829 students
- Grand Traverse AcademyCombined · 824 students
- Eastern Elementary SchoolElementary · 475 students
Other Central Grade schools
One other US public school is named Central Grade. Central Grade School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- Central Grade SchoolEffingham, IL · 547 students
Nearby schools
- North EdCreekside School1.1 mi · 64
- The Greenspire School1.1 mi · 93
- Willow Hill Elementary School1.2 mi · 429
- TCAPS Montessori School1.4 mi · 331
- The Greenspire High School1.5 mi · 176
- Traverse Heights Elem School1.5 mi · 245
Frequently asked questions
About Central Grade SchoolHow large is Central Grade School?
Central Grade School enrolls approximately 510 students in grades PK-07.
What age range does Central Grade School serve?
Central Grade School serves students from grade PK through grade 07.
How many teachers does Central Grade School have?
Central Grade School employs 30 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Central Grade School?
Student demographics at Central Grade School are roughly 84% White, 5% Hispanic, 3% Black, 5% Asian.
Who oversees Central Grade School?
Central Grade School is overseen by Traverse City Area Public Schools in Grand Traverse County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.