Chippewa Hills Middle School, Remus MI

Original Research by School Decision on Chippewa Hills Middle School

Chippewa Hills Middle School sits on Arthur Road in the small, unincorporated community of Remus, in Mecosta County. It is a regular public school serving grades five through eight as part of the Chippewa Hills School District. The surrounding area is rural and agricultural, with scattered homes and farms and a modest commercial cluster along M-20. Remus has limited walkability and no public transit, so families here rely on personal vehicles. The community is known regionally for the Wheatland Music Festival and Heritage Days, and nearby natural amenities include lakes, the Muskegon River, and trail systems. Housing in the area runs well below state and national benchmarks, which points to a relatively affordable market with limited development pressure compared with larger Michigan metros.

The school enrolls a mid-sized population for its grade band. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the rural, working-class character of the area. The student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Hispanic, multiracial, and other backgrounds. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here.

On Michigan state assessments for the most recent school year, results paint a mixed picture. In math, proficiency starts low in fifth grade, rises in sixth, dips in seventh, and falls again in eighth, where it sits at the weakest point across all tested grades. English language arts follows a different pattern, with fifth and seventh grade proficiency in a middling range, sixth grade somewhat stronger, and eighth grade standing out as a clear bright spot with a large majority of students reaching proficiency. Science proficiency in the tested fifth and eighth grades lands in a moderate range, and social studies follows a similar pattern, with eighth grade social studies reaching a level where roughly half of tested students are proficient. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint relative to districts in Mecosta County, which is a reasonable standing among its immediate peers. That said, the math results, particularly in the upper grades, are a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the school.

No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. Participation rates were also not reported, which limits what can be inferred about how fully the student body was represented in these results.

Because this is a middle school serving only grades five through eight, there is no graduation rate to report, and that absence is expected for the grade band rather than a gap in the data. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing, and Title I status was not available in the provided data, so those dimensions of the school environment cannot be addressed here.

At the district level, two publicly reported changes are relevant to families. The district opened Barryton Elementary in fall 2021, replacing an older building and providing a modern facility for the youngest students in the Barryton area. The district also retired its Native American mascot and branding, working with the Native American Heritage Fund to cover transition costs. While neither change directly alters the middle school's academic program, the mascot shift in particular affects identity across the district.

For a family weighing this school, the academic profile suggests a place where English language arts, especially by eighth grade, is a relative strength, and where science and social studies hold their own. Math is the area where proficiency lags most clearly. The rural setting, affordable housing, and small-community character are defining features. A parent looking for a close-knit, small-town environment with reasonable academic standing among neighboring districts may find this a workable fit, with the caveat that math outcomes warrant a direct conversation with the school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 19% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 77% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 44% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

Social studies

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 49% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

This schoolChippewa Hills School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income37%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income41%Higher-income55%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income43%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income88%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income12%Higher-income37%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income25%Higher-income42%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income28%14 pp gap