Top Michigan High Schools by SAT Scores

The 98,995 Michigan students who took the SAT in 2024 earned an average composite score of 945 out of 1600. For comparison, test-takers in 2023 earned a slightly higher mean composite of 958. Michigan’s mean composite score trails behind the national average composite of 1024 (down from 1028 in 2023).

(Top image caption: the International Academy of Macomb in Clinton Township, just north of Detroit, had the highest average 2024 SAT scores in Michigan. Photo by Ajay Suresh, licensed under CC BY 2.0)

SAT scores can be an effective indicator of student college & career readiness, and the best high schools are the ones which adequately prepare students for college or a career. As such, if you’re wondering which are the top schools in Michigan, then it’s a good idea to look at the ones with the best SAT scores! This article takes a look at Michigan’s most recently published SAT scores from 2024 with a focus on the top high schools across the state.

Michigan Scores in Context

Michigan is one of several states with standardized testing requirements. Since 2015, it has required all public school students to take the SAT their junior year as part of the Michigan Merit Exam (MME), its statewide assessment of all 11th graders. In 2024, Michigan tested 96% of its students—one of eleven states that tested 89% or more of its juniors. Among those states, it has the fifth-highest average composite SAT score (surpassed by Colorado (998), Connecticut (990), Indiana (969), and Illinois (966)).

In general, states with higher testing levels tend to have lower average scores. This is shown in the chart below, which plots the average SAT score of all 50 states (plus the District of Columbia) against the percentage of graduates who were tested.

Although the data is not perfectly linear (real-life data rarely is), there is a clear correlation between higher levels of testing and lower average scores. One main reason for this is that they include results from students whose future plans may not include college-level coursework. (In some cases, these students will “take” the test but not actually complete it, resulting in artificially low scores).

In states where standardized testing like the SAT is optional, most test-takers are self-selecting and academically advanced, which is reflected in their test scores. For example, consider Kansas and Wyoming, which have the highest average composite scores (1256 & 1253) but tested 2% and 1% of their students, respectively. No state that tested more than 10% of its students had an average score higher than 1170.

SAT College and Career Readiness Benchmarks

The SAT’s College and Career Readiness Benchmarks (CRBs) are the scores on each SAT subject area that indicate a student’s chance of college success. When a student meets both the Reading and Writing benchmark and the Math benchmark, they are considered college-ready in both subjects.

According to the College Board, students that meet or exceed the SAT Math benchmark score have a 75% chance of earning a C or higher in their first-college-semester math courses. The same goes for students that meet or exceed the Reading and Writing benchmark for courses in the humanities (such as history, literature, or social sciences) in their first semester of college. These benchmark scores are:

• Reading and Writing: 480
• Math: 530

Of course, students that score below these benchmarks can still have success in college, so long as they study and persevere. Still, they are a reliable metric to evaluate student college-readiness of individuals and groups of students.

Are Michigan Students College-Ready?

Above: Percent of Michigan students (teal) compared to the nation (blue) meeting SAT College Readiness Benchmarks in Reading & Writing (ERW), Math, and both. (College Board SAT Suite Annual Reports).

With an average SAT Math score of 462.8 and an average Reading & Writing score of 482.1, Michigan trails the national average when it comes to meeting SAT Career and College-Readiness Benchmarks. More than half (53%) of Michigan test-takers met the Reading and Writing benchmark, but less than a third (31%) met the Math benchmark. With only 29% of students meeting both benchmarks, Michigan students are generally ten percent behind the nation across these benchmarks. Further, nearly half met neither benchmark (45%, compared to the national average of 36%).

Michigan’s scores reflect the national decline in test scores, as visible in the chart below.

Above: Percent of Michigan students who met the SAT math CRB, the reading CRB, and neither, over time—since 2018. (College Board SAT Suite Annual Michigan Reports Archive).

The percent of students meeting neither the Math nor Reading & Writing CRB has risen by 7% since 2018, and 1-2% fewer students met either CRB  year after year pre-pandemic. The class of 2021’s sharp improvement in student scoring seems to be an outlier. Only 68% of the students took the SAT that year in Michigan, making it the only year from the dataset with a participation rate lower than 80%.

Immediately after that spike, 2022 shows the steepest drop in scoring. 12% fewer students met each CRB than in 2021—but that’s just a 1% drop for the Reading & Writing CRB and a 2% drop for math since 2020. Then, 2023 saw 4% fewer students meeting each CRB.

While the downward trend is clear and concerning, the data is beginning to paint a more promising picture in the last couple of years. SAT-takers in Michigan showed the same level of preparedness this year as those who took the exam in 2023, an improvement from the declining scores in the state since 2018.

Michigan SAT Scores Show a Racial Achievement Gap

Nationally, there is a concerning correlation between a student’s racial background and their likelihood of SAT success. In general, Asian American students score the highest, followed by white students. Students who identify as Black or African American score the lowest, while Hispanic students and students of other races generally score somewhere in the middle. Of course, this is not a causative relationship; rather, the many factors which negatively impact SAT scores tend to disproportionately affect non-white (and non-Asian) students.

Michigan’s 2024 results magnify these nationwide disparities. 73% of Black students in Michigan met neither CRB, with 26% meeting the Reading & Writing CRB and only 8% doing the same for math. Compare that to national figures: 43% of Black SAT -takers across the country met the Reading benchmark and 19% met the math benchmark. Especially since Black and African American students make up 12% of the national student body and 14% of Michigan’s students, this steep disparity shows that Black students in Michigan are not getting the educational support they need.

The same goes for Hispanic/Latino students in Michigan—42% met the Reading & Writing CRB, while just 19% met the Math CRB. This is a stark contrast to white students in the state, 60% of whom met the Reading & Writing benchmark while 36% did so for math. Michigan has a long way to go to level the playing field and provide adequate educational support so that its students can achieve SAT success and college readiness regardless of their background.

How to Improve SAT Scores

Luckily for students of all backgrounds looking to increase their chances of SAT success, there are several actions they can take which are statistically likely to improve their scores. Remember that all students are taking Digital SAT now, so all test prep should be done with the new version of the exam in mind.

1. Focus on schoolwork and take academically challenging classes. Students who do better in school nearly always do better overall on standardized tests like the SAT. Students hoping to improve their chances on the SAT should aim to take and do well in “core curriculum” math, English, and reading classes.
2. Take the SAT more than once. There is a clear statistical advantage to retesting: in 2024, the mean composite score of Michigan students who took the SAT School Day and retook the SAT on a weekend was a 1146, more than 230 points above the average composite score of students who only took the School Day SAT (915). Students who are worried about the cost of retesting should look into SAT Fee Waivers, which allow eligible students to take the SAT.
3. Spend time studying and preparing specifically for the SAT. Taking practice tests helps students familiarize themselves with the content and the format of the test and gives them specific feedback. In addition, working with a tutor can be an effective way of improving a student’s weakest areas and developing test-taking strategies. Piqosity’s online learning software emulates the personalization of one-on-one tutoring—together with a full suite of Digital SAT practice materials, our test prep program is perfect for students looking to increase their chances of SAT success.

Most Popular Michigan Colleges for SAT Examinees

With nearly 2 million students taking it in 2023, the SAT is the most popular college admissions test (1.91 million test-takers, vs. 1.38 million who took the ACT). While it’s regularly used as a required assessment of high school juniors in many states like Michigan, at the end of the day the SAT is the most popular college admissions exam. (1.91 million test-takers in 2023, vs. 1.38 million who took the ACT.) So, it follows that many students who take the test aspire to go to college after graduation.

75% of SAT-takers in Michigan indicated some post-high school plans on their test form in 2024. 67% of testers designated that their score report be sent to a college or university, and they overwhelmingly chose in-state public colleges. Michiganians’ top five selections (and the percentage of score-senders to those schools) were:

1. Michigan State University (36.3%)
2. University of Michigan Ann Arbor (27.8%)
3. Central Michigan University (16.3%)
4. Grand Valley State University (15.4%)
5. Wayne State University (13.6%)

While good SAT scores make any student an attractive candidate, all of these five are test-optional, meaning they consider students for admission without test scores. All of these universities are quite large, and some of them are fairly competitive—students at Michigan State have an average SAT score range of 1100-1300, and those at U Michigan Ann Arbor have an average score range of 1350-1530.

The top private schools of choice among high-achieving Michigan students were the University of Detroit Mercy (2.8%), Davenport University (2.8%), and Harvard College (2.3%).

Top Michigan High Schools by SAT Scores

Eight excellent high schools in Michigan surpassed an average composite SAT score of 1150 in 2024, and 14 others scored higher than 1100. Chippewa Valley Schools’ International Academy of Macomb outshined the rest (no doubt due in part by its rigorous and rewarding International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme), scoring an average composite of 1233.7—nearly 60 points ahead of second place.

The table below presents the average composite SAT scores from the 789 Michigan high schools for which full data was available.

Top 10 Michigan High Schools by 2024 Average SAT Score

1. International Academy of Macomb, Clinton Township (1233.7)
2. Troy High School, Troy (1175.9)
3. Novi High School, Novi (1168.1)
4. City Middle/High, Grand Rapids (1166.0)
5. Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, Saginaw (1157.2)
6. Northville High School, Northville, (1154.7)
7. Community High School, Ann Arbor (1152.1)
8. West Michigan Aviation Academy, Grand Rapids, (1149.0)
9. Okemos High School, Okemos (1142.7)
10. Washtenaw Technical Middle College, Ann Arbor (1135.3)

How to Read This Sortable Table

• The default sort is by total score from highest to lowest; to change the sorting order, click on the header by which you want to sort
• “Total” is the total SAT score from 400 to 1600
• “Math” and “R&W” refers to the school’s average scores in each section (Mathematics and Reading & Writing) from 200 to 800

Get Ready for the Digital SAT with Piqosity

If you’re a student preparing for the SAT and looking for ways to improve your test readiness, Piqosity is here to help! Piqosity is a simple, all-in-one learning platform for students who want to score better on their SAT in less time. Our tools monitor your progress to tell you exactly what you need to practice to reach your desired score.

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For the full datasets referenced in this article:

• 2024 Michigan SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report, College Board
• 2024 Total Group SAT Suite of Assessments Annual Report, College Board
• SAT Suite Data and Reports Archive, College Board
• 2024 Michigan College Readiness report, Michigan Department of Education’s MI School Data site

More Educational Resources from Piqosity:

• Books to Read for SAT and ACT Prep
• Tips on Nailing the College Interview
• The Digital SAT Format—Comparing the Easy and Hard Modules
• Top Colorado High Schools by SAT Scores
• College Application Tips You’ll be Thankful For