The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Kenwood Elementary School
Kenwood Elementary School sits in Clawson, a compact, fully developed residential suburb of Detroit in Oakland County. The city markets itself as a community of neighbors with a small-town atmosphere, and its quiet, tree-lined residential blocks, compact Main Street commercial corridor, and walkable layout back that up. Residents can walk or bike to the library, community center, parks, and schools. Seasonal events like a weekly farmers market, Cinema in the Street, and a week-long Fourth of July celebration animate the downtown. No interstate runs through Clawson, though I-75 sits roughly a mile to the north and east. The city is bounded by Troy, Royal Oak, and Madison Heights, leaving no room for geographic expansion. The entire city falls within the boundaries of Clawson Public Schools.
The school served pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school, part of Clawson Public Schools. Its enrollment was small for its grade band, with a predominantly white student body and smaller representation among Black, multiracial, Asian, and Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualified for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here.
On state assessments from the most recent reported year, Kenwood's results were mixed and varied considerably by grade and subject. Fourth-grade performance stood out as a genuine bright spot, with a strong majority of students proficient in English language arts and well over half proficient in math. Fifth-grade ELA was also solid, with a clear majority reaching proficiency. Third-grade results were weaker in both math and reading, and fifth-grade math and science fell below that level. Social studies proficiency was low. The school's overall proficiency index placed it above the midpoint among districts in Oakland County, a comparison set of roughly fifty districts, which gives a reasonable sense that Kenwood was performing somewhat above the county's middle tier across tested subjects and grades. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results were improving or declining over time.
Participation rate data was missing across all tested grades and subjects, which limits full confidence in the proficiency figures, though the tested counts themselves were reported. A parent may want to look into this further with the district.
Because this is an elementary school serving only early grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available.
A major change has reshaped this school's role. According to publicly reported information, Clawson Public Schools underwent a districtwide consolidation beginning around 2023. The district had previously operated two elementary schools, Schalm and Kenwood, split by geographic boundaries along 14 Mile Road and Rochester Road. The district consolidated into a single elementary school, Clawson Elementary School, in the former middle school building. A new middle school wing was built in 2023. Kenwood Elementary closed in June 2024 and reopened as the Clawson Early Childhood Center in September 2025. This means the building now housing Kenwood's name no longer functions as a traditional elementary school. Families considering this area should understand that elementary-age children in Clawson now attend Clawson Elementary School, while the Kenwood building serves early childhood programs. Attendance boundaries changed with the consolidation, eliminating the prior geographic split.
The housing market in Clawson is moderate relative to broader Oakland County. Home values in the school's zip code sit below the state benchmark and well below the national benchmark, making this one of the more affordable entry points in an otherwise affluent county. Rents are also modest relative to income. The county-level market has seen listing prices soften somewhat year over year, while inventory has grown, giving buyers somewhat more selection than in recent seasons. Homes in Clawson range from historic to newer construction, and the city's fully built-out character means growth comes through infill and redevelopment rather than new subdivisions. A private school, Japhet School, also operates in Clawson, housed in a former YWCA building.
For a family weighing this area, the academic record from Kenwood's final year as an elementary school shows a school that was middling-to-strong by county standards with real strengths in fourth grade and some soft spots in third and fifth. The consolidation means that record now belongs to a building that no longer serves elementary students, and the current elementary program operates under a new configuration at Clawson Elementary School.
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