The top reported proficiency rate is 42% in Science. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Crossroads Charter Academy K5
Crossroads Charter Academy K5 sits in Big Rapids, a small college town that blends its identity as the Mecosta County seat with the presence of Ferris State University. The city grew up around its courthouse, and Ferris State's main campus is woven into the fabric of the community rather than sitting apart from it. The Muskegon River runs through town past the university, and the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail, a long multi-use path connecting Grand Rapids to Cadillac, passes through as well. Big Rapids has a historic downtown with shops and businesses, a robust industrial base with corporations that serve global markets, and a local airport north of the business district. The population peaked in the 1980s and has declined over the long term, partly tied to shifting enrollment at Ferris State, though recent publicly reported estimates point to slight growth.
The school is a charter serving kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment small enough that each grade has a single class or close to it. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native populations. The school does not report IEP or English learner figures, so those populations are not visible in the available data. Because the school stops at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and that absence reflects the grade band rather than anything about performance.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, the most recent results show proficiency rates that sit below where most Mecosta County districts land. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to the county's districts. Third-grade math and English language arts proficiency are in the upper teens. Fifth-grade math is in the low twenties, and fifth-grade ELA reaches the low thirties. Fifth-grade science is the relative bright spot, with a proficiency rate in the low forties, and fifth-grade social studies lands in the mid-twenties. Fourth-grade results carry a reported range rather than a precise figure, and the proficient count in both fourth-grade math and ELA was zero. The tested groups are small, which means a handful of students moving categories can shift a rate noticeably from year to year. A parent weighing these results may want to ask the school directly how it is supporting growth in fourth-grade math and reading, and what intervention strategies are in place across all tested grades.
Participation rates for the state assessments are listed as missing, so it is not possible to confirm from this data how completely the student body was tested. No multi-year trend data was available either, which limits the picture to a single year. Discipline, staffing, attendance, and chronic absenteeism figures are absent from the available data, so those dimensions of school climate cannot be described here. The school does not report program offerings, and no district-level changes of lasting impact were found in the research, so the narrative sticks to what is documented.
On housing, the Big Rapids area sits below the state and national benchmarks for typical home values, though values have been climbing at a faster year-over-year pace than either the state or the nation. No rental data was available for this location, so renters would need to look elsewhere for market context. Mortgage rates nationally remain elevated, and the broader unemployment picture has held steady.
For a family considering this school, the relevant tradeoffs are clear. It is a small, charter elementary with a high-poverty student population in a college town that offers river access, trail infrastructure, and a walkable downtown. Its state assessment results are below county peers, with science as the strongest subject and fourth-grade math and reading as the weakest. The data gaps around staffing, discipline, attendance, and special populations mean a parent would need to contact the school directly to fill in those pieces before making a decision.
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