Summary:
The 61353 zip code is home to two schools - Paw Paw Elementary School and Paw Paw Junior High School, both part of the Paw Paw CUSD 271 district. While the junior high school stands out for its relatively strong test scores, particularly in 7th grade, the elementary school lags behind state averages. Both schools serve a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with free and reduced-price lunch rates over 40%.
Paw Paw Junior High School impresses with its 7th grade test scores, which exceed state averages in both English Language Arts (58.3% proficient vs. 42.5% state) and Math (41.7% proficient vs. 28.7% state). However, the school's performance declines in 6th and 8th grades, suggesting potential issues with curriculum alignment or instructional quality as students transition between the elementary and junior high levels. In contrast, Paw Paw Elementary School struggles to meet state proficiency standards, with 3rd and 5th grade scores well below state averages.
Both schools have relatively low student-teacher ratios, with Paw Paw Elementary at 9.1 and Paw Paw Junior High at 5.4, which could be a positive factor in providing more individualized attention. However, the junior high school spends significantly more per student ($24,236) compared to the elementary school ($21,568), an interesting data point that warrants further exploration. Overall, the data suggests opportunities to better support student achievement, particularly in the transition from elementary to junior high, and to address the needs of the economically disadvantaged population served by these schools.
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