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What's the most underrated thing about Paw Paw Middle School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
498
Middle
DISTRICT 429 · STATE 502
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PAW PAW PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 262766006351
Paw Paw Middle School
313 W MICHIGAN AVE, PAW PAW, MI 49079 · (269) 415-5500 · Van Buren County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL498 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 12% of Michigan public middle 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.8:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
187 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 | 167 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 159 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 172 | 35% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 34% · 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
Paw Paw Middle School→Paw Paw High School
Based on grade levels within Paw Paw Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
30.5%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
32.9%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 33 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of MI schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
34.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.6%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 50% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Paw Paw Middle School
Paw Paw Middle School's state test result (34.1% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paw Paw Middle School this school | 498 | 37.6% | 34.1% |
| OJ DeJonge Middle School LUDINGTON | 447 | 38.3% | 42.5% |
| Sparta Middle School SPARTA | 503 | 40.4% | 43.0% |
| Wayland Union Middle School WAYLAND | 611 | 36.2% | 41.7% |
| Coopersville Middle School COOPERSVILLE | 584 | 39.9% | 48.7% |
| Milan Middle School MILAN | 526 | 38.2% | 39.8% |
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 Paw Paw Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Van Buren County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.1% | #304 of 397 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 32.9% | #212 of 380 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.5% | #326 of 377 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 498 | #248 of 491 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.9:1 | #260 of 436 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.3% | #245 of 437 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 37.6% | #301 of 477 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.3% | #305 of 339 | N/A |
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
498
+170 (+52%) vs 2020
+3% since 1990-91, when it was 482
Student : Teacher
17.9:1
was 16.4:1
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 | 498 | 27.8 | 17.9:1 | 38% (187) |
| 2023-24 | 461 | 29.8 | 15.5:1 | 43% (199) |
| 2022-23 | 475 | 28.8 | 16.5:1 | 41% (197) |
| 2020-21 | 328 | 20 | 16.4:1 | 40% (130) |
| 2017-18 | 515 | 26.9 | 19.1:1 | 41% (211) |
| 2015-16 | 505 | 24 | 21.0:1 | 40% (202) |
| 2010-11 | 505 | 30 | 16.8:1 | 40% (203) |
| 2000-01 | 529 | 32 | 16.5:1 | 27% (143) |
| 1990-91 | 482 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Paw Paw Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (515 to 498); teachers up 3% (26.9 to 27.8).
About Paw Paw Middle School
Paw Paw Middle School is a medium-sized middle school in Paw Paw Public School District, located in PAW PAW, Michigan. The school had 498 students in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25.
The district for Paw Paw Middle School is Paw Paw Public School District, with 5 schools and 2,146 students.
Paw Paw Middle School's enrollment is 83% White. Next come 12% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. County-wide, about 80% of residents are White. Paw Paw Middle School's diversity index is 30%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal data list 27.8 full-time-equivalent teachers at Paw Paw Middle School in 2024-25, for a ratio of 17.9:1. That is close to the 17.5:1 average for middle schools in Michigan. The lunch program counts 38% of students at Paw Paw Middle School as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Public schools in Van Buren County average 52%.
The allk12 Grade for Paw Paw Middle School is D. Compared with Michigan public middle schools, the school scored higher than 12% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Paw Paw Middle School would score about 49.6%. It scores 34.1%, a bottom-10% result among Michigan schools on BeatsExpectations.
Among Van Buren County residents, the median household income is $68,114, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Paw Paw Middle School is one of 45 public schools in the county.
Paw Paw Early Elementary School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles away. Within five miles of Paw Paw Middle School, there are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 5 nearby schools with scores, Paw Paw Middle School ranks 5th on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Fringe: the school is in a town close to an urbanized area.
Paw Paw Middle School had 328 students in 2020-21 and 498 in 2024-25, according to federal records. Those counts may cover different grade spans. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 16.4:1; by 2024-25 it was 17.9:1.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Van Buren County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
75,795
Census ACS
Median income
$68,114
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
45
14,850 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Paw Paw Public School District
- Paw Paw High SchoolHigh · 638 students
- Paw Paw Early Elementary SchoolElementary · 481 students
- Paw Paw Later ElementaryElementary · 453 students
- Cedar Street Community and Family CenterHigh · 76 students
Other schools in PAW PAW
- Paw Paw High SchoolHigh · 638 students
- Paw Paw Early Elementary SchoolElementary · 481 students
- Paw Paw Later ElementaryElementary · 453 students
- Cedar Street Community and Family CenterHigh · 76 students
- Communitybased Transition CenterHigh · 53 students
Nearby schools
- Paw Paw Early Elementary School0.5 mi · 481
- Paw Paw Later Elementary0.6 mi · 453
- Communitybased Transition Center0.8 mi · 53
- Cedar Street Community and Family Center0.9 mi · 76
- Paw Paw High School2.6 mi · 638
- Lawton Elementary School4.5 mi · 397
Frequently asked questions
About Paw Paw Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Paw Paw Middle School?
Paw Paw Middle School enrolls approximately 498 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Paw Paw Middle School serve?
Paw Paw Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Paw Paw Middle School?
Approximately 17.9:1 students per teacher at Paw Paw Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Paw Paw Middle School?
At Paw Paw Middle School, the student body is approximately 83% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Paw Paw Middle School in?
Paw Paw Middle School is part of Paw Paw Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.