Ottawa Elementary School, Clinton Twp MI

Original Research by School Decision on Ottawa Elementary School

Ottawa Elementary School sits on Millar Road in Clinton Township, part of the Chippewa Valley Schools district in Macomb County. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, drawing from a working- and middle-class corner of the township where home values run below both the state and national benchmarks. The surrounding housing market has been cooling modestly, with listings taking a bit longer to sell and demand softening relative to a year ago. For families considering the area, housing costs are more manageable than in many parts of metro Detroit, and the district has recently invested in improvements that touch every school.

Chippewa Valley Schools secured voter approval in May 2023 for a bond that funds district-wide technology and security upgrades, athletic facility renovations at both of its high schools, and replacement of aging school buses. The bond was structured to avoid raising the current debt levy tax rate, so families are seeing facility and technology improvements without a tax increase. Work began in 2024 and continues through 2026. Ottawa Elementary stands to benefit from the technology and security pieces of that package.

The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, with a majority of students identifying as white and a sizable minority identifying as Black. Hispanic students and students of two or more races make up smaller shares, and a small number of Asian students attend. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals that many families here are working within tight household budgets. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so those population sizes are unknown.

State testing results from the most recent M-STEP administration paint a mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency climbs steadily as students move up through the grades. Third grade proficiency is low, but by fifth grade a much larger share of tested students reach proficiency. This upward trajectory across grades suggests that students who stay at Ottawa through the upper elementary years tend to grow in their reading and writing skills. Math results are flatter and generally lower, with third grade particularly weak and only modest improvement in fourth and fifth grades. Fifth grade science and social studies proficiency both land in a similar lower range. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among districts in Macomb County, meaning that on average, Ottawa students are scoring below what is typical for the county. A parent weighing this school may want to look into how the staff supports early-grade math instruction and what intervention resources are available for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.

It is worth noting that participation rates for these assessments were not available, so it is hard to know whether nearly all eligible students were tested. Chronic absenteeism data was also missing, which leaves a gap in understanding whether attendance is a factor in the school's results. Information on discipline, staffing levels, and course access was not provided, so those aspects of the school environment cannot be described here.

Because Ottawa serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report and no high school course pathway to describe. What families get is a pre-K through fifth grade foundation feeding into the middle and high schools of Chippewa Valley Schools, a district actively spending on its facilities. The school's peer environment is diverse, its community is modestly priced, and its academic results are below the county midpoint with a brighter spot in upper-grade literacy. Families for whom affordability and a large, established district matter may find the setting workable, particularly if they are prepared to supplement early math at home or ask the school directly about its support strategies.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 43% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 34% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 39% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 43% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 46% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 36% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 31% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolChippewa Valley 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-income10%Higher-income28%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income38%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income45%27 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income8%Higher-income10%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income31%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income22%12 pp gap