The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Social studies. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Burton Glen Charter Academy
Burton Glen Charter Academy is a single-school charter district in Genesee County, Michigan, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The enrollment is moderate for a K through 8 charter, with class sizes that taper somewhat in the upper elementary and middle grades. The student body is predominantly Black, with a meaningful share of students identifying as two or more races, and small Hispanic and white populations. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not reported, so the economic profile of the enrolled families is not something we can characterize from the available data. IEP and English learner counts were also missing, so we cannot speak to those service populations.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, the school shows a clear pattern across subjects and grades. In the early grades, math results are a relative bright spot, with third and fourth grade proficiency landing in a moderate range that sits above what the school posts in later grades. From fifth grade onward, math proficiency drops and remains low through eighth grade, where students take the PSAT rather than M-STEP. ELA results hold fairly steady in the middle elementary and early middle grades, generally in a modest range, and then the eighth grade PSAT ELA result stands out as notably strong. That eighth grade ELA figure is the highest proficiency rate the school posts in any subject at any grade level, and a parent looking at the upper grades may want to understand what instruction or support is driving that result. Science and social studies are tested only in fifth and eighth grades. Fifth grade science and social studies results are very low, while eighth grade science lands in a modest range and eighth grade social studies comes in somewhat higher.
Among Genesee County's districts, Burton Glen's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint, meaning that when you average across all tested subjects and grades, the school performs better than a majority of county districts, though well below the top performers. That positioning reflects the strength of the early-grade math and eighth grade ELA results pulling up averages that would otherwise be dragged down by the weaker middle-grade math and fifth grade science and social studies scores. The county comparison set includes several dozen districts, so "above the midpoint" is a meaningfully broad peer group, but it is also one where the spread between the lowest and highest performers is wide.
The chronic absenteeism rate at Burton Glen is in the bottom quartile among Genesee County districts, meaning a substantially larger share of students are chronically absent than at most peer districts. This is the most concerning data point in the profile. High absenteeism correlates with lower academic outcomes, and the pattern here is consistent with the proficiency dips seen in the middle grades. A parent considering this school would benefit from asking how the school addresses attendance and what supports exist for students who miss school frequently. Per-pupil spending is in the lower range among county districts, sitting just below the county median, which gives a sense of the resource environment the school operates in.
Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That metric does not apply to a K through 8 entity. We also do not have locale, housing, or community data for this school's area, so we cannot describe the surrounding neighborhood, housing market, or commute context. The district brief search returned no parent-relevant changes or recent initiatives that could be confirmed, so there is nothing to report on that front. Program offerings, course access details, staffing ratios, and discipline data were not available, and we left those gaps rather than filling them with assumptions.
The overall read for a parent is that Burton Glen is a charter option with a distinct academic signature: relatively stronger early-elementary math and a standout eighth grade ELA result, set against weaker middle-grade math and very low fifth grade science and social studies. The absenteeism rate is a serious flag that deserves direct conversation with the school. The student body is predominantly Black and relatively small, which may appeal to families seeking that peer environment. What we cannot tell from the available data is how the school supports special populations, what enrichment or intervention programs it offers, or what the surrounding community looks like. Those are questions worth bringing directly to the school.
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