Alanson Public School, Alanson MI

Original Research by School Decision on Alanson Public School

Alanson Public School is a single-building public school serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in the village of Alanson, tucked along the Crooked River in Emmet County. The enrollment is small, spread across every grade band from early elementary through senior year, which gives the school the feel of a close-knit, all-grades community rather than a segmented campus. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Native American, Hispanic, multiracial, and a few other students. The village itself sits at roughly one square mile, with a compact downtown along US 31 where shops, a post office, and community spaces sit within easy walking distance. Alanson traces its roots to the Michigan lumber boom and today positions itself as a recreational stop on the Inland Waterway, with boating, fishing, skiing, and snowmobiling shaping seasonal life. The community is described publicly as faith-based and proud of its Northern Michigan simplicity.

On state assessments for the most recent school year, the picture is mixed and, in several grades, leaning weak. In mathematics, third and fourth grade proficiency fell into a low reported range with no students testing proficient. Fifth grade math was also low, while sixth grade showed a modest uptick and seventh grade stood out as a relative bright spot. Eighth grade math, assessed through the PSAT, dropped back to a lower level. English language arts followed a similar arc: third and fourth grades were low, fifth grade fell into a low reported range, and sixth grade remained modest. Seventh grade ELA was the strongest result in the school, and eighth grade ELA also showed a healthier level of proficiency. Science results for fifth grade were middling, and eighth grade science was lower. Social studies followed a comparable pattern. When measured against other districts in Emmet County, Alanson's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this school may want to look into the academic support structures and intervention efforts with the school directly, especially in the early elementary grades where proficiency is weakest.

Several categories of information that families often ask about were not available. No graduation rate was reported in the comparison data, and chronic absenteeism figures were missing as well. Data on special education enrollment, English learner identification, course access, staffing ratios, discipline, and attendance was not provided. Program offerings were not included in the available data, so we cannot speak to AP, career pathways, dual enrollment, or extracurricular breadth. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes reported recently, so we left that out rather than guess.

The housing market in Alanson's zip code shows typical home values above the Michigan state benchmark but below the national figure, with recent year-over-year appreciation that outpaced both the state and national rates. Estimated monthly mortgage costs at current rates sit at a level that, relative to national median household income, puts the area at a moderate price-to-income ratio for buyers. Rental data was not available. The village's population has been relatively stable over recent decades, and no major new housing developments were surfaced in publicly reported sources.

What families get here is a very small, rural, all-grades public school in a compact river village with strong seasonal recreation ties and a quiet, faith-oriented community identity. The academic results are uneven, with some grades performing respectably and others, particularly in the early elementary band, showing clear weakness. The missing data on graduation, absenteeism, staffing, and programs means a full picture is not available from these sources alone, and a family evaluating Alanson would benefit from direct conversations with the school about what supports and pathways are in place.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=80%Cohort of 18 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,027 schools plotted. 80 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

▲ 8 pts above state median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 28 pts above state median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 4 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 21 pts below state median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 35 pts above state median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▼ 9 pts below state median

Science

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 6 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 4 pts below state median

This schoolAlanson Public Schools, 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.