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1 / 25#25. Paw Paw High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Paw Paw Public School District, MI
- Enrollment: 692 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Best high schools in the Kalamazoo metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Kalamazoo metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Delton-Kellogg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Delton Kellogg Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 313 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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3 / 25#23. Harper Creek High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Harper Creek Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 904 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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4 / 25#22. Kalamazoo Central High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kalamazoo Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,612 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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5 / 25#21. Martin High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Martin Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 332 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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6 / 25#20. Mendon Middle/High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mendon Community School District, MI
- Enrollment: 267 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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7 / 25#19. Parchment High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Parchment School District, MI
- Enrollment: 434 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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8 / 25#18. Schoolcraft High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Schoolcraft Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 499 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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9 / 25#17. Marcellus High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Marcellus Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 162 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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10 / 25#16. Marshall High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Marshall Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 733 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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11 / 25#15. Lawton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lawton Community School District, MI
- Enrollment: 289 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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12 / 25#14. Loy Norrix High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kalamazoo Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,771 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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13 / 25#13. Three Rivers High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Three Rivers Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 653 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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14 / 25#12. St. Philip Catholic Central High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Battle Creek, MI
- Enrollment: 78 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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15 / 25#11. Lakeview High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lakeview School District, MI
- Enrollment: 1,383 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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16 / 25#10. Vicksburg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Vicksburg Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 728 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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17 / 25#9. Otsego High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Otsego Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 751 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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18 / 25#8. Heritage Christian Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
- Enrollment: 185 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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19 / 25#7. Kalamazoo Christian High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
- Enrollment: 275 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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20 / 25#6. Mattawan High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Mattawan Consolidated School, MI
- Enrollment: 1,171 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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21 / 25#5. Gull Lake High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Gull Lake Community Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 850 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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22 / 25#4. Battle Creek Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Battle Creek, MI
- Enrollment: 95 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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23 / 25#3. Portage Central High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Portage Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,420 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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24 / 25#2. Portage Northern High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Portage Public Schools, MI
- Enrollment: 1,252 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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25 / 25#1. Hackett Catholic Prep
- School type: Private School
- Location: Kalamazoo, MI
- Enrollment: 215 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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