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Which teacher or staff member at Clifford H Smart Middle School deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
888
Middle
DISTRICT 709 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WALLED LAKE CONSOLIDATED SCHOOLS·NCES 263516007072
Clifford H Smart Middle School
8500 COMMERCE RD, COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, MI 48382 · (248) 956-3500 · Oakland County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL888 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 83% 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
20.8:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.6:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
20%
179 students
DISTRICT 30% · 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 6 | 289 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 306 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 293 | 33% |
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 49% · 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
57.0%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
48.7%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 57 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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
59.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
57.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Clifford H Smart Middle School
Clifford H Smart Middle School's state test result (59.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clifford H Smart Middle School this school | 888 | 20.2% | 59.8% |
| North Rockford Middle School ROCKFORD | 908 | 18.2% | 70.6% |
| Oxford Middle School OXFORD | 938 | 19.0% | 42.7% |
| Sashabaw Middle School CLARKSTON | 933 | 17.6% | 56.0% |
| Lowell Middle School LOWELL | 790 | 20.8% | 58.7% |
| East Rockford Middle School ROCKFORD | 788 | 17.8% | 68.7% |
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 Clifford H Smart Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Oakland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.8% | #55 of 397 | #14 of 41 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.7% | #91 of 380 | #21 of 41 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #77 of 377 | #18 of 40 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 888 | #31 of 491 | #10 of 46 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.8:1 | #415 of 436 | #43 of 45 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.3% | #252 of 437 | #38 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 20.2% | #411 of 477 | #29 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.2% | #100 of 339 | #17 of 35 |
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
888
-75 (-8%) vs 2020
+28% since 1990-91, when it was 694
Student : Teacher
20.8:1
was 22.9:1
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 | 888 | 42.7 | 20.8:1 | 20% (179) |
| 2023-24 | 906 | 44 | 20.6:1 | 23% (211) |
| 2022-23 | 934 | 41.9 | 22.3:1 | 22% (208) |
| 2020-21 | 963 | 42 | 22.9:1 | 21% (204) |
| 2017-18 | 1,099 | 48 | 22.9:1 | 18% (193) |
| 2015-16 | 1,045 | 47 | 22.2:1 | 13% (141) |
| 2010-11 | 980 | 46 | 21.3:1 | 13% (128) |
| 2000-01 | 897 | 51 | 17.6:1 | 4% (35) |
| 1990-91 | 694 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Clifford H Smart Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (1,099 to 888); teachers down 11% (48 to 42.7).
About Clifford H Smart Middle School
In COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Michigan, Clifford H Smart Middle School is a high-enrollment middle school. Students in grades 6 through 8 attend, and enrollment is 888 students. The school's enrollment is 77% above the 502 average for middle schools in Michigan.
Clifford H Smart Middle School is a school in Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. The district has 19 schools and 11,640 students.
White students make up 84% of enrollment at Clifford H Smart Middle School. Other students are 6% Hispanic, 5% multiracial, 3% Black, and 3% Asian. That is higher than the 69% White share among all Oakland County residents. The school's diversity index is 29%, meaning two students picked at random have a 29% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teacher staffing is 42.7 full-time equivalents, or about 20.8 students per teacher. On average, middle schools in Michigan have 17.5:1, compared with 20.8:1 here. About 20% of students, or 179, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Oakland County average 32%.
The allk12 Grade for Clifford H Smart Middle School is A-. Compared with Michigan public middle schools, the school scored higher than 83% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Schools in Michigan with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 57.4%. Clifford H Smart Middle School scores 59.8%.
Oakland County has these Census figures: the median household income is $97,760, about 51% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. In all, Oakland County has 345 public schools and roughly 169,926 students.
The closest public school to Clifford H Smart Middle School is Keith Elementary School, about 1.0 miles away. Clifford H Smart Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 55.4% proficiency; Clifford H Smart Middle School posts 59.8%.
The NCES locale for Clifford H Smart Middle School is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment is down 8% from 2020-21, when Clifford H Smart Middle School had 963 students, to 2024-25, when it had 888. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 20.8:1, from 22.9:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Oakland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,279,825
Census ACS
Median income
$97,760
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
51%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
345
169,926 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
- Walled Lake Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,383 students
- Walled Lake Central High SchoolHigh · 1,182 students
- Walled Lake Western High SchoolHigh · 1,033 students
- Walnut Creek Middle SchoolMiddle · 641 students
- James R Geisler Middle SchoolHigh · 620 students
- Sarah G Banks Middle SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Other schools in COMMERCE TOWNSHIP
- Walled Lake Northern High SchoolHigh · 1,383 students
- Walled Lake Central High SchoolHigh · 1,182 students
- Walled Lake Western High SchoolHigh · 1,033 students
- James R Geisler Middle SchoolHigh · 620 students
- Commerce Elementary SchoolElementary · 534 students
- Oak Valley Middle SchoolMiddle · 531 students
Nearby schools
- Keith Elementary School1.0 mi · 542
- Oakley Park Elementary School1.6 mi · 392
- Commerce Elementary School1.8 mi · 534
- Walled Lake Central High School2.0 mi · 1,182
- Walled Lake Northern High School2.6 mi · 1,383
- Scotch Elementary School2.7 mi · 556
Frequently asked questions
About Clifford H Smart Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Clifford H Smart Middle School?
Clifford H Smart Middle School enrolls approximately 888 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Clifford H Smart Middle School serve?
Clifford H Smart Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Clifford H Smart Middle School?
Approximately 20.8:1 students per teacher at Clifford H Smart Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Clifford H Smart Middle School?
At Clifford H Smart Middle School, the student body is approximately 84% White, 6% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is Clifford H Smart Middle School in?
Clifford H Smart Middle School is part of Walled Lake Consolidated Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.