The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Social studies. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Oj Dejonge Middle School
OJ DeJonge Middle School is the sole middle school serving the Ludington Area School District, carrying students from sixth through eighth grade in a regular public school setting. It sits in Ludington, a small Lake Michigan city that functions as the county seat of Mason County. The town blends residential neighborhoods with a downtown commercial district and industrial manufacturing along the waterfront, and it is the home port of the SS Badger carferry. Seasonal tourism and employers in aluminum extrusion, calcium chloride production, and metal castings shape the local economy. Publicly reported sources note that Ludington's population has declined over the past two decades, so the community is one of gradual contraction rather than rapid growth. The district recently made a major capital investment by building and opening a new Ludington Elementary in 2022, consolidating elementary education into a single modern facility.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a middle school serving three grades, with students distributed fairly evenly across sixth, seventh, and eighth. Just over half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The population is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic presence and a modest share of students identifying as two or more races. IEP and English learner figures were not available in the data provided, so those populations cannot be characterized here. The school is neither a charter nor a magnet, and no Title I status was reported.
On state assessments, the most recent results paint a mixed but overall encouraging picture. In English language arts, proficiency holds steady from sixth through seventh grade and then jumps sharply in eighth, where the school posts a strong result on the PSAT. That eighth-grade ELA figure is the school's clearest academic bright spot. Math proficiency rises across the three grades as well, starting lower in sixth and climbing by eighth, though the math results remain more modest than the ELA results. Eighth-grade science lands in the middle range, and eighth-grade social studies is a relative strength. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline over time. Participation rates were also missing from the available data.
When measured against its county peers, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Mason County. This is a small cohort, so the comparison should be read as a local rather than a broad one, but the positioning is favorable within that set. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism are not applicable to this school because it serves only middle grades.
The housing market in the school's zip code sits above the state benchmark but below the national one, with recent year-over-year appreciation that outpaces both the state and national rates. No rent data was available. The price-to-income ratio used in the data is at a level that suggests moderately approachable housing costs relative to earnings, though current mortgage rates remain elevated. A family considering the area would find a community where housing is more affordable than many parts of the country, set against the backdrop of a lakeside town whose population has been slowly declining.
For a parent weighing OJ DeJonge, the academic evidence points to a school where English language arts is a genuine strength, particularly by eighth grade, and where math shows an upward trajectory across the middle grades. The weaker math results in the lower grades are worth a conversation with the school, as is the absence of trend data that would show whether performance is moving in the right direction over time. The peer environment is that of a predominantly white, mid-sized middle school where roughly half the students come from economically disadvantaged households. The surrounding community offers a distinct combination of lakeside natural amenities and industrial employment, with a district that has recently demonstrated willingness to invest in its facilities.
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