The reported proficiency rate for Social studies is 31%.
Original Research by School Decision on Oakland County Academy of Media Technology
Oakland County Academy of Media Technology was a charter school located on Woodward Avenue in Pontiac, Michigan, serving elementary and middle grades. The most important fact for any parent or resident reading this is that the school is no longer operating. It closed permanently in 2023 after auctioning off its equipment and furniture and listing its building for sale, as publicly reported by local news outlets. This means the school does not represent a current educational option for families in the area, and the academic data that follows reflects its final reported year, not an ongoing program.
In its last operating year, the school was very small, with only a handful of students tested in each grade level on Michigan's state assessments. The tested groups across third through eighth grade ranged roughly between a dozen and roughly eighteen students per grade, which is a compact cohort even for a charter school. This small size shapes everything about the school's profile: the academic results come from very few students, so a single child's performance could move a grade-level result considerably.
On the 2022-23 M-STEP and PSAT assessments, proficiency in math and English language arts was reported in suppressed ranges rather than exact figures, and across nearly every grade and subject, the proficient count was zero. The state reported proficiency ranges that clustered at the bottom of the scale in both subjects and across all tested grades. In science, tested in grades five and eight, the same pattern held, with proficiency ranges at the low end and no students recorded as proficient. Social studies was the one area where the state reported an actual proficiency rate for eighth grade, and it showed a modest share of students reaching proficiency, while fifth grade again showed no students proficient. The average scale scores were reported for each grade and subject, but without comparison context in the data provided, it is difficult to say how those raw scores sit relative to state expectations. What is clear is that proficiency outcomes in the final year were weak across the board, with the single exception of eighth-grade social studies.
Enrollment totals, demographic breakdowns, free or reduced-price lunch figures, special education and English learner counts, and staffing information were all missing from the available data. The grade range is listed in directory records as "M through M," which appears to be a placeholder rather than a meaningful band, though the state assessment data confirms the school tested students in grades three through eight. Because the school has closed, these gaps are unlikely to be filled.
The school was a charter, not a magnet, and its Title I status was not reported. No civil rights data, course access information, discipline records, or attendance figures were available.
Pontiac itself is a mid-sized city that has undergone a long economic transition. Once anchored by multiple General Motors manufacturing plants, the city lost most of that industrial base as GM departed. The former Pontiac Silverdome site now hosts an Amazon fulfillment center, a visible marker of the shift from heavy manufacturing to logistics. Pontiac serves as the county seat for Oakland County, so government employment is a steady presence, and the downtown business district along Woodward Avenue and Saginaw Street holds retail, dining, and civic functions. Walkability is limited outside the immediate downtown core, with major thoroughfares like M-59 and Telegraph Road carrying heavy traffic. The city has experienced population decline over recent decades, followed by a modest rebound, and publicly reported sources describe it as having a relatively young population.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable by any standard. Home values sit well below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly modest. For families already living in Pontiac, the cost of housing is not a barrier, though the closure of this charter school means one fewer school choice in a community where publicly reported sources emphasize affordable living and access as primary draws.
For a parent encountering this school in a search, the essential takeaway is that Oakland County Academy of Media Technology is closed. The academic record from its final year shows low proficiency across nearly every tested subject and grade, from a very small student body. Whether the school's media technology theme was realized in its programming could not be assessed from the available data, as no program offerings, course catalogs, or extracurricular information was provided. Families looking for school options in Pontiac will need to look to other charter schools, the Pontiac School District, or neighboring districts, as this particular pathway no longer exists.
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