Uriah H Lawton School, Ann Arbor MI

Original Research by School Decision on Uriah H Lawton School

Uriah H. Lawton School sits on Ann Arbor's south side, serving kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Ann Arbor Public Schools. It is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet, and its enrollment is moderate for an elementary building in this district. The school draws from a community where the University of Michigan anchors civic and economic life. Publicly reported descriptions of Ann Arbor paint it as a walkable university town where campus and downtown intermingle, with sidewalk dining, bookstores, and a tech-driven economy shaped by university research and development. Major employers include the university and its medical complex, alongside offices for Toyota, General Motors, Ford, Google, and Domino's. The city's parks system and the Nichols Arboretum add green space, and buses connect campuses with the central business district. Growth and development are a live political question locally, with startup expansion fueling debate about the city's trajectory.

Lawton's state assessment results, from the most recent M-STEP administration, are strong across the board. In math, roughly three-quarters to just over four-fifths of tested students reached proficiency across third, fourth, and fifth grades, with fourth grade the highest. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with proficiency rates ranging from the low seventies to the high seventies across the three tested grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency landed in the low seventies, while social studies was the softest spot, with a smaller share of fifth graders reaching proficiency than in other subjects. A parent whose child is strong in reading and math will find reassuring numbers here. The social studies result is the one area a parent may want to look into further with the school, to understand how that subject is taught and whether the gap reflects anything about curriculum coverage or test alignment.

Placed against districts in Washtenaw County, Lawton's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile, well above the county median. This is one of the higher-performing elementary schools in the area by state testing. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent steady performance or recent improvement. Chronic absenteeism data was not reported, and the school does not have a graduation rate because it serves only elementary grades. Information on special education enrollment and English learner counts was missing from the available data. The school's free and reduced-price lunch rate is low, reflecting the relative affluence of the surrounding community. The student body is majority white, with a substantial Asian American population and smaller Black, Hispanic, and multiracial groups.

The housing market around Lawton is expensive relative to both state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit well above the Michigan median and above the national median, with a price-to-income ratio that signals a stretch for many buyers. Rents are also on the higher side, though the gap between monthly rent and monthly mortgage costs is modest, meaning renting is somewhat less costly than buying at current prices and rates. For families considering a move into the attendance area, the cost of housing is a real factor.

At the district level, Ann Arbor Public Schools is in a period of both investment and fiscal pressure. Voters approved a large, long-term bond funding a new elementary school, classroom renovations, and facility improvements, with construction ongoing. An operating millage renewal passed in November 2023, preserving a key funding stream for day-to-day operations. At the same time, the district approved budget reductions for the current school year, with additional cuts anticipated to address structural deficit spending. The district is also exploring a project-based New Tech High School, which would add a nontraditional pathway at the secondary level, though that is years away from affecting Lawton families directly. For a family with elementary-aged children, the immediate picture is a school with strong academic results in an affluent, education-oriented community, inside a district navigating the tension between capital investment and ongoing budget strain.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 60% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 63% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 60% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 56% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 479%

School 79% · District 61% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 64% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 62% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 52% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolAnn Arbor Public Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income36%Higher-income83%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income92%56 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income79%52 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income46%Higher-income85%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income90%40 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income83%56 pp gap