Overview
This data set provides school expulsion counts organized by county for the 2017–2018 school year, preserved here as a historical snapshot; for current discipline data, visit MI School Data. Expulsion data is one of several discipline indicators tracked at the state and regional level to help educators, administrators, and policymakers understand patterns in student discipline and identify areas where alternative interventions may be needed.
Currency of above data: 2017 – 2018 data
Source: https://www.mischooldata.org/
What the Data Shows
The expulsion data file includes counts of students expelled from public school districts during the 2017–2018 academic year. The data is organized by county and district, allowing users to compare expulsion rates across different areas within the MARESA service region, including Marquette County, Alger County, and other Upper Peninsula ISDs.
Key fields in the data set typically include:
- County and district identifiers
- Total number of expulsions
- Breakdowns by offense category (where available)
- Grade level information
How the Data Is Collected
Expulsion data is reported by individual school districts to the Michigan Department of Education through required state reporting processes. The Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information (CEPI) compiles this data and makes it available through MiSchoolData.org. MARESA extracts and organizes the regional data to support local analysis and planning.
Interpreting the Data
When reviewing expulsion data, it is important to consider several contextual factors:
- District size matters — Larger districts will naturally have higher raw counts. Per-pupil rates provide a more meaningful comparison across districts of different sizes.
- Policy differences — Districts may have varying discipline policies and thresholds for expulsion, which can affect comparability.
- Small numbers — In smaller districts common in the Upper Peninsula, even one or two expulsions can represent a significant rate change from year to year.
- Trends over time — A single year of data provides a snapshot. Examining data across multiple years gives a more accurate picture of discipline patterns.
This data is provided as a resource for administrators, school board members, and community stakeholders who are working to support positive school environments and equitable discipline practices across the region.