The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Social studies. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Marshall Academy
Marshall Academyis a single-school charter district in Calhoun County, Michigan, serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade under the authorization of Ferris State University's Charter Schools Office. The school's charter was reauthorized effective in the summer of 2024, securing its continued operation for a defined contract period, which gives families some assurance of stability. Its education service provider is Teachers First, Inc. The school is small, with roughly two dozen students per grade level, and the enrollment reflects a mix of white students forming the majority and Black students forming a substantial minority, with a small Hispanic presence and a few students of two or more races. Free or reduced-price lunch data was not available, and information on special-education enrollment and English learners was also missing, so the economic and special-population profile of the student body cannot be characterized from the data provided.
On state assessments, Marshall Academy's results sit in the bottom quartile among Calhoun County's districts for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The school's per-pupil current spending is in the lower range compared to its county peers, which may be relevant context for understanding the resources available per student. Chronic absenteeism runs above the county midpoint but below the highest levels seen in the county, suggesting that attendance is a recognized challenge here without being the most extreme in the region. A four-year graduation rate was not available in the comparison data, so the school's standing on that measure among county districts cannot be assessed.
Looking at state testing in more detail, the picture varies by subject and grade, though the overall pattern leans modest. In mathematics, third grade showed the strongest result, with a meaningful share of tested students reaching proficiency. From fourth grade onward, math proficiency drops and stays low across the middle grades, with fifth grade showing very few proficient students. Eighth-grade math, assessed via PSAT, also reflected a low share of proficient students. English language arts shows more variation. Third grade and eighth grade were the relative bright spots, with eighth grade in particular showing a solid proportion of students meeting proficiency on the PSAT. The middle elementary and early middle school grades in ELA hovered in a lower but fairly consistent band. In science, tested in fifth and eighth grades, results were modest in both, with eighth grade showing somewhat stronger performance. Social studies showed the widest swing: fifth grade had very few proficient students, while eighth grade reached a level where half the tested students were proficient.
A key caveat runs through all of these results: the tested groups are very small. With only a handful of students in each testing cohort, a single student's performance can shift a proficiency rate considerably. This makes year-to-year comparisons and grade-level snapshots less stable than they would be in a larger school. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent a steady pattern or a fluctuation. A parent evaluating the academic program may want to ask the school directly how it is responding to these results and what improvement plans are in place.
Beyond test scores, several categories of information that parents often weigh were absent from the data. No locale brief was provided, so there is no picture here of the surrounding community, housing market, or commute context. Program offerings such as Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, career and technical education, or arts and athletics were not reported. Staffing details, discipline data, course access information, and civil-rights data were all missing. Title I status was not reported, and the school's charter and magnet designations were listed as null, which is consistent with its identity as a charter school rather than a magnet.
What the available evidence does convey is a small, reauthorized charter school with a continuous kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade pathway, a student body that is racially mixed, and state assessment results that place it in the lower tier of Calhoun County's districts for academic proficiency. The chronic absenteeism rate suggests an attendance challenge that the school is likely contending with. Spending per pupil is lower than most of its county peers. Families drawn to a small-school environment with a single continuous campus from kindergarten through graduation may find the setting appealing, but the academic data indicates that a parent would want to look into the school's instructional approach and improvement plans before committing. The gaps in the available data, from economic demographics to program offerings, mean that much of the decision-relevant picture will need to come from direct conversation with the school itself.
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