The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cherry Creek Elementary School
Cherry Creek Elementary School sits on Orton Road in Marquette, the largest city in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and the seat of Marquette County. It is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade, part of Marquette Area Public Schools, which is the largest district in the Upper Peninsula. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, with fairly even distribution across the six grade levels. The student body is predominantly white, with a small American Indian or Alaska Native presence and a smaller multiracial share. A modest portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, lower than what many urban elementary schools see. Data on English learners and special education populations was not available, so those demographics cannot be characterized here.
On state assessments, the most recent M-STEP results paint a mixed academic picture. English language arts is the school's clear relative strength. Proficiency climbs steadily from third grade through fifth grade, with the oldest tested cohort reaching a level where more than half of students met or exceeded standards. That upward trajectory across grades suggests the school is doing something right in literacy building over time. Science and social studies results for fifth graders land in a moderate range, sitting roughly in line with the English results for that grade.
Mathematics is the softer area. Third-grade math proficiency starts at a middling level but drops noticeably in fourth grade and remains lower in fifth. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking what curricula or interventions are in place for upper-elementary math and whether the dip reflects a cohort effect or a programmatic gap. The state flagged a cut-score change for social studies, which means year-over-year comparisons for that subject carry a caveat, though trend data was not available for any subject.
Against its peers, Cherry Creek's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among districts in Marquette County. The county set includes about half a dozen districts with comparable data, and Cherry Creek lands closer to the middle-lower end of that range. This is not a bottom-end result, but it does indicate that several neighboring districts post stronger aggregate proficiency across tested subjects and grades. No graduation rate applies here because the school does not serve high school grades, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported.
The surrounding community shapes what daily life looks like for families at Cherry Creek. Marquette is a university town, home to Northern Michigan University, and a regional medical and government hub. It remains a working iron ore shipping port on Lake Superior, though heavy industry has largely receded, with manufacturing now centered on food products and concrete. Major employers include the university, the school district itself, the regional hospital, and the state prison. Downtown clusters along the waterfront with breweries, museums, and shops, while Presque Isle Park offers trails, a marina, and nature programs on a forested peninsula jutting into Lake Superior. The city receives very heavy lake-effect snow, which is a defining feature of winter life. Recent development has focused on climate adaptation along the shoreline, including moving portions of Lakeshore Boulevard inland and restoring wetlands to manage stormwater.
The housing market around the school runs above the Michigan state benchmark but below the national figure. Home values have been appreciating at a healthy clip recently, and rents are moderate relative to income. For families considering a move into the attendance area, buying is more expensive than the state average but remains within reach compared to many national markets, and renting costs a comparable share of household income.
The district brief turned up little in the way of recently reported changes of lasting impact, so there are no major shifts to flag. Program offerings, staffing details, discipline data, and attendance figures were not available in the provided data, which limits the picture of school climate and enrichment. What the available evidence does show is an elementary school with solid and improving literacy instruction, moderate science and social studies outcomes, and a math trajectory that warrants attention. Families drawn to the Marquette area's outdoor access, university-town amenities, and Lake Superior setting will find a conventional public elementary experience here, with academic results that are uneven but not without genuine strengths.
See more original research from School Decision →