Garfield’s public schools beat 85% of Michigan districts
The public schools Garfield’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 85% of Michigan’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
How Garfield compares
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Michigan’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of Michigan only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
The district
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Well above the state in reading
Garfield vs. its neighbors
Garfield’s schools rank 2nd of 5 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among Michigan districts.
Every school in Garfield
9 schools. Grades are ours, from state tests and graduation. Stars are from neighbors.
Parents talk
What Garfield families are saying about school.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Colleges near Garfield
There’s no college in Garfield, but 1 is within 30 miles. The closest is Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, 3.6 miles away.
Straight-line distance from the center of Garfield. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus · College Scorecard · IPEDS.
School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within Michigan. Stars are from neighbors.