GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The Michigan Department of Education recently released the 2024-25 results of state-standardized tests taken last spring, reporting that students in most grades and subjects again performed better overall.
The latest results, released in late August, are broken down by grade, subject (English language arts, social studies, math and science) and test type.
Results show how Kent and Ottawa students fared on both the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the pretest (called the PSAT) for the SAT.
The M-STEP is an assessment required annually to help schools track student progress from third to eighth grade and again in the 11th grade, though not in all subjects in every grade. The SAT is issued by the College Board to assess students in two subjects in 11th grade and the PSAT is also taken in eighth grade.
In all three major tests, students in third through eighth grade and 11th grade are tested in math and English/language arts. Fifth- and eighth-graders, as well as high school juniors, are also tested in social studies and science.
The high school with the largest percentage of proficient students in West Michigan was Grand Rapids Public Schools’ (GRPS) City High Middle School, whose 11th graders scored 54% proficient on the social studies exam.
As Kent County’s largest district, GRPS enrolled 13,692 students in 2023-24.
The middle school with students most proficient was Vanderbilt Charter Academy. The Holland-based, young-fives through eighth-grade charter school recorded 57% of its seventh graders proficient in English.
Across all categories – subject, test and grade level – only nine subgroups in seven Kent or Ottawa County schools earned at or above 50% proficiency, however. All were for the M-STEP. Those details can be found below.
1. Vanderbilt Charter Academy
District: N/A
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 7
Subject: ELA
% Proficient: 57%
2. Spring Lake Middle School
District: Spring Lake Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 8
Subject: Social Studies
% Proficient: 54%
3. City High Middle School
District: Grand Rapids Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 11
Subject: Social Studies
% Proficient: 54%
4. Goodwillie Environmental School
District: Forest Hills Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 6
Subject: ELA
% Proficient: 53%
5. City High Middle School
District: Grand Rapids Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 8
Subject: Social Studies
% Proficient: 52%
6. Goodwillie Environmental School
District: Forest Hills Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 6
Subject: Mathematics
% Proficient: 51%
7. Chandler Woods Charter Academy
District: N/A
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 8
Subject: Science
% Proficient: 51%
8. Riley Street Middle School
District: Hudsonville Public School District
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 8
Subject: Social Studies
% Proficient: 51%
9. East Rockford Middle School
District: Rockford Public Schools
Test: M-STEP
Grade: 8
Subject: Social Studies
% Proficient: 50%
Statewide, the percentage of students who performed at proficient or advanced levels increased in 14 out of the 20 tests taken, according to an MLive review.
According to the education department, that’s an improvement from 13 out of 20 in spring 2024, but down slightly from 15 out of 20 in 2023. Looking at the general results year over year, the state pointed to both positives and negatives.
“It is noteworthy that in many grades, Michigan students posted the highest math and (English) proficiency rates in the last three school years,” State Superintendent Michael Rice said in an Aug. 27 statement. “At the same time, however, (English) scores in grades three and four remain a concern.”
Across Kent and Ottawa counties, no third or fourth grade class analyzed by MLive scored above 50% proficiency.
The elementary school that scored the highest was Rockford Public Schools’ Lakes Elementary School, whose fourth graders scored 48% proficiency in math on the M-STEP.
Among assessments that showed a decline in proficiency, some of the biggest were in third grade, where tests showed minor decreases in math and language arts.
Similar declines of about one or two percentage points or less also showed up in fourth grade English, fifth grade science, eighth grade math and 11th grade science.
The third grade school in West Michigan with the greatest overall proficiency was Jenison Public Schools’ Pinewood School, where third graders earned 44% proficiency overall in math on the M-STEP.
The education department emphasized the decline in proficiency rates for third and fourth grade English. The percentage went from 39.6% to 38.9% and 42.4% to 43.3% between 2024 and 2025, respectively.
Rice said state statutes adopted in late 2024 aimed to boost young students’ reading skills should help improve scores down the road, but put pressure on state lawmakers to enact more legislation to improve young reader literacy skills.
Rockford’s Valley View Elementary School recorded the highest ELA proficiency for fourth graders, at 45% overall.
Below is a table to search test results for individual schools in Kent and Ottawa counties, broken down by test, grade level, subject and percent proficient.
The Center for Educational Performance and Information posted statewide results under “K-12 Grade,” For more, visit www.mischooldata.org.