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What's the most underrated thing about Central Woodlands 56 School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
462
Middle
DISTRICT 436 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FOREST HILLS PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 261461000901
Central Woodlands 56 School
400 ALTA DALE AVE SE, ADA, MI 49301 · (616) 493-8790 · Kent County
GRADES 05–06MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL462 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 90% of Michigan public middle schools
- ATest 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.3:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
10%
47 students
DISTRICT 14% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 232 | 50% |
| Grade 6 | 230 | 50% |
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
71.6%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
64.7%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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
67.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.8%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 Woodlands 56 School
Central Woodlands 56 School's state test result (67.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Central Woodlands 56 School this school | 462 | 10.2% | 67.6% |
| Central Middle School ADA | 488 | 12.3% | 77.2% |
| South Hills Middle School BLOOMFIELD HILLS | 555 | 6.7% | 72.1% |
| Eastern Middle School ADA | 528 | 13.3% | 65.6% |
| Derby Middle School BIRMINGHAM | 631 | 8.6% | 73.7% |
| Anderson Middle School BERKLEY | 489 | 13.7% | 55.9% |
Matched among Michigan middle 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 Woodlands 56 School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.6% | #29 of 397 | #9 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.7% | #30 of 380 | #10 of 26 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.6% | #8 of 377 | #4 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 462 | #268 of 491 | #25 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.2:1 | #284 of 436 | #20 of 33 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.5% | #234 of 437 | #27 of 33 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 10.2% | #461 of 477 | #34 of 36 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.2% | #183 of 339 | #8 of 22 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
462
-8 (-2%) vs 2020
-24% since 2000-01, when it was 608
Student : Teacher
18.2:1
was 17.4:1
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 | 462 | 25.4 | 18.2:1 | 10% (47) |
| 2023-24 | 451 | 23.4 | 19.3:1 | 13% (57) |
| 2022-23 | 453 | 25.7 | 17.6:1 | 13% (59) |
| 2020-21 | 470 | 27 | 17.4:1 | 15% (69) |
| 2017-18 | 526 | 26.8 | 19.6:1 | 10% (51) |
| 2015-16 | 545 | 30 | 18.2:1 | 8% (44) |
| 2010-11 | 585 | 36 | 16.3:1 | 8% (49) |
| 2000-01 | 608 | 41 | 14.8:1 | 3% (20) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Central Woodlands 56 School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (526 to 462); teachers down 5% (26.8 to 25.4).
About Central Woodlands 56 School
Central Woodlands 56 School is a middle-grades school in ADA, Michigan, reachable at (616) 493-8790. The school has 462 students in 2024-25 across grades 5 through 6.
Forest Hills Public Schools is the district for Central Woodlands 56 School. It has 18 schools and 8,797 students.
A large majority of enrollment at Central Woodlands 56 School is White, at 82%. The school is also 6% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. The White share of the county population is lower, at 73%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Central Woodlands 56 School scores 31%.
Central Woodlands 56 School has a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.2:1, with 25.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is in line with the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan. The school has 10% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Kent County average 47%.
Central Woodlands 56 School holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 90% of Michigan public middle schools.
On BeatsExpectations, Central Woodlands 56 School is 5.8 points above its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Michigan schools.
In the surrounding county, Kent County, median household income comes to about $82,631, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 41% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. The county has 239 public schools and about 97,253 students.
The closest school to Central Woodlands 56 School is Central Middle School, located about 0.6 miles away. Central Woodlands 56 School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Central Woodlands 56 School ranks 5th of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 67.6% against a local average of 71.1%.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Suburb: Large: in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (470) to 2024-25 (462).
People who know Central Woodlands 56 School can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Forest Hills Public Schools
- Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,088 students
- Central High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Eastern High SchoolHigh · 768 students
- Eastern Middle SchoolMiddle · 528 students
- Knapp Forest Elementary SchoolElementary · 520 students
- Northern Trails 56 SchoolMiddle · 520 students
Other schools in ADA
- Eastern High SchoolHigh · 768 students
- Eastern Middle SchoolMiddle · 528 students
- Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 488 students
- Ada Vista Elementary SchoolElementary · 446 students
- Ada Elementary SchoolElementary · 293 students
- Goodwillie Environmental SchoolMiddle · 103 students
Nearby schools
- Central Middle School0.6 mi · 488
- Central High School0.9 mi · 999
- Ada Elementary School1.4 mi · 293
- Ada Vista Elementary School1.4 mi · 446
- Thornapple Elementary School1.8 mi · 361
- Collins Elementary School2.0 mi · 356
Frequently asked questions
About Central Woodlands 56 SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Central Woodlands 56 School?
Central Woodlands 56 School enrolls approximately 462 students in grades 05-06.
What age range does Central Woodlands 56 School serve?
Central Woodlands 56 School serves students from grade 05 through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Central Woodlands 56 School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Central Woodlands 56 School is approximately 18.2:1 (25 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Central Woodlands 56 School?
At Central Woodlands 56 School, the student body is approximately 82% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 6% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Central Woodlands 56 School public or private?
Central Woodlands 56 School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Forest Hills Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.