1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
273
Elementary
DISTRICT 219 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PENNFIELD SCHOOLS·NCES 262781006358
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary
8465 PENNFIELD RD, BATTLE CREEK, MI 49017 · (269) 961-9789 · Calhoun County
GRADES 03–04ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL273 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% of Michigan public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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
16.1:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
167 students
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 55%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 150 | 55% |
| Grade 4 | 123 | 45% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 36% · 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
Based on grade levels within Pennfield Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
33.1%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
30.1%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 33 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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
31.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.2%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 Pennfield Dunlap Elementary
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary's state test result (31.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennfield Dunlap Elementary this school | 273 | 61.2% | 31.5% |
| Concord Elementary School CONCORD | 292 | 60.6% | N/A |
| North Elementary School IRON MOUNTAIN | 263 | 63.5% | 55.5% |
| Dawson Elementary School ALLEGAN | 278 | 62.9% | 46.2% |
| Mary McGuire School MOUNT PLEASANT | 276 | 60.5% | 28.6% |
| West Ward Elementary School ALLEGAN | 247 | 64.0% | 41.1% |
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 Pennfield Dunlap Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Calhoun County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.5% | #913 of 1,085 | #11 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.1% | #906 of 1,072 | #10 of 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 33.1% | #929 of 1,139 | #14 of 17 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 273 | #1,186 of 1,630 | #14 of 27 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #724 of 1,424 | #15 of 20 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.1% | #622 of 1,424 | #13 of 20 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.2% | #680 of 1,563 | #17 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -40.5% | #29 of 979 | #1 of 17 |
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
273
-186 (-41%) vs 2020
+10% since 1990-91, when it was 248
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 20.9:1
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 | 273 | 17 | 16.1:1 | 61% (167) |
| 2023-24 | 420 | 23.2 | 18.1:1 | 70% (292) |
| 2022-23 | 469 | 26.2 | 17.9:1 | 65% (305) |
| 2020-21 | 459 | 22 | 20.9:1 | 51% (232) |
| 2017-18 | 459 | 26.6 | 17.3:1 | 55% (253) |
| 2015-16 | 498 | 24 | 20.8:1 | 52% (257) |
| 2010-11 | 438 | 20 | 21.9:1 | 45% (197) |
| 2000-01 | 278 | 17 | 16.4:1 | 22% (61) |
| 1990-91 | 248 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pennfield Dunlap Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 41% (459 to 273); teachers down 36% (26.6 to 17).
About Pennfield Dunlap Elementary
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is a small elementary school. Its address is in BATTLE CREEK, Michigan. Enrollment is 273 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 3 through 4. The average for elementary schools in Michigan is about 369 students, so this school is 26% smaller than average.
Pennfield Schools has a total of 5 schools and 1,877 students, Pennfield Dunlap Elementary among them.
By race and ethnicity, Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is 76% White. Other reported shares: 11% multiracial, 6% Hispanic, and 5% Black. The White share in Calhoun County as a whole is similar, at about 76%. By the diversity index, Pennfield Dunlap Elementary comes in at 40%.
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary counts 17 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 16.1 students for each one. Elementary schools in Michigan average about 15.8:1, a similar figure. About 61% of students at the school meet free or reduced-price lunch income limits.
allk12 grades Pennfield Dunlap Elementary a D. The grade compares the school only with Michigan public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 31.5%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 39.2%.
Across Calhoun County, median household income is about $63,177, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 23% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. The public schools of Calhoun County number 56 and enroll about 18,982.
Pennfield Middle School is the closest public school, about 0.1 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Of the 4 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is 2nd on average proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is Rural: Fringe.
Enrollment records show 459 in 2020-21 and 273 in 2024-25. Because schools sometimes add or drop grades, the two numbers may not be directly comparable. Its ratio of students to teachers was 20.9:1 in 2020-21, and 16.1:1 in 2024-25.
If you have questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Calhoun County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
133,778
Census ACS
Median income
$63,177
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
56
18,982 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Pennfield Schools
- Pennfield Senior High SchoolHigh · 748 students
- Pennfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 471 students
- Pennfield Purdy SchoolElementary · 197 students
- North Pennfield ElementaryElementary · 188 students
Other schools in BATTLE CREEK
- Lakeview High SchoolHigh · 1,241 students
- Lakeview Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,082 students
- Battle Creek Central High SchoolHigh · 978 students
- Harper Creek Middle SchoolMiddle · 896 students
- Harper Creek High SchoolHigh · 823 students
- Pennfield Senior High SchoolHigh · 748 students
Nearby schools
- Pennfield Middle School0.1 mi · 471
- Pennfield Senior High School0.2 mi · 748
- Pennfield Purdy School2.2 mi · 197
- North Pennfield Elementary2.7 mi · 188
- Verona Elementary School2.9 mi · 201
- Doris Klaussen Dev Center3.4 mi · 204
Frequently asked questions
About Pennfield Dunlap ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary?
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary enrolls approximately 273 students in grades 03-04.
Is Pennfield Dunlap Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is an elementary school covering grades 03-04.
How many students per teacher at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary?
Approximately 16.1:1 students per teacher at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary?
Student demographics at Pennfield Dunlap Elementary are roughly 76% White, 6% Hispanic, 5% Black, 1% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is Pennfield Dunlap Elementary public or private?
Pennfield Dunlap Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Pennfield Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.