The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 53% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Bingham Farms Elementary School
Bingham Farms Elementary School sits in a small, quiet residential village in Oakland County, part of the Birmingham Public Schools district. The village itself is a low-density suburban community of treed lots along the Franklin Branch of the Rouge River, with a commercial corridor of professional and medical office buildings running along Telegraph Road. There is no traditional downtown, and walkability is minimal. The school integrates into this residential fabric rather than anchoring a town center, sitting on West 13 Mile Road. Publicly reported sources note that the French School of Detroit also uses the building for its elementary classes, adding a second educational community under one roof.
The school serves children from prekindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment that is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a sizable Black enrollment and smaller groups identifying as Hispanic, Asian, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native. A relatively small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which aligns with the affluent character of the surrounding village. The area's housing values sit well above both the state and national benchmarks, and even above the broader Oakland County median listing price, pointing to a community where housing costs are a real consideration for families thinking about moving in. The village experienced its main growth spurt in the 1980s with office and condominium development and has seen only slight population change since, trending gently downward in recent estimates. No major new housing developments were identified in the locale research.
On state assessments, Bingham Farms Elementary shows a mixed but generally strong profile. Fourth grade stands out as the school's clearest strength, with proficiency in both English language arts and mathematics running well above typical state levels. Third grade results are solid, particularly in ELA. Fifth grade tells a more complicated story. Math proficiency drops sharply at that grade, falling well below the fourth grade mark, while ELA and science hold up reasonably well. Social studies proficiency sits in the middle range. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Oakland County, which is a strong standing given that the county includes many high-performing districts.
A parent looking at these results may want to ask the school about the fifth grade math dip specifically, since it stands out against otherwise consistent performance. It could reflect a single cohort, a curricular transition, or something about how that grade's students were assessed. The data alone does not explain it, and the school would be the right source for that context.
Trend data across multiple years was not available, so there is no way to tell from the provided information whether these results represent a stable pattern or a one-year snapshot. Participation rates for the state assessments were also missing from the data, though the tested counts were reported for each grade and subject. Information on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so the full picture of special populations is incomplete here. This is the kind of gap that often reflects reporting variation rather than an absence of services, but a parent with specific needs would want to confirm directly with the school.
The broader community context is one of calm and relative privilege. The village has no public library branch, no identified park system, and no transit hub of its own, so families are oriented toward driving and toward amenities in neighboring communities. Civic life centers on the village office. The employment base along Telegraph Road is professional and medical, small to mid-size in scale, with no large industrial or institutional employer dominating. For a family already in or near Birmingham Public Schools, Bingham Farms Elementary offers a strong academic foundation in most grades and subjects, a quiet setting, and a peer environment shaped by an affluent, low-density suburb. The fifth grade math result is the one area that merits a closer conversation before enrolling or committing.
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