The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in Science. The lowest is 35% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Davis Elementary School
Davis Elementary School sits in the village of Decatur, a small rural community in Van Buren County with a mix of residential streets, a compact downtown, and surrounding farmland. The village sits along M-51 south of I-94, close to numerous inland lakes, and publicly reported descriptions paint it as a place with a slower pace of life and a friendly, small-town atmosphere. Daily life here is largely car-dependent, with no public transit identified. The community's economic base blends agriculture and manufacturing, with local financial institutions like First State Bank and Honor Credit Union serving as civic anchors. The village offers five parks, including one with lake access for swimming and boating, and nearby regional draws include Van Buren State Park on Lake Michigan and the Kal-Haven Trail. Decatur's population has been declining over recent census cycles, and no major new housing developments or growth initiatives surfaced in publicly available sources.
Davis is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade, part of Decatur Public Schools, which operates one elementary, one middle, and one high school in the village. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school of this grade band. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-class character of the surrounding community. The student body is majority white, with a sizable Hispanic population and small numbers of students identifying as multiracial or from other backgrounds. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here.
On state assessments, Davis shows a mixed but generally improving pattern as students move up through the grades. Third-grade math and English language arts proficiency rates are modest, with fewer than half of tested students reaching proficiency in either subject. By fourth and fifth grade, the picture brightens considerably. Fourth-grade ELA jumps to about half of students proficient, and fifth-grade ELA holds at roughly the same level. Math climbs steadily from third to fifth grade, with the highest grade reaching about two in five students proficient. Fifth-grade science stands out as a clear strength, with well over half of tested students meeting proficiency, a result that outpaces what the other subject areas show at the same grade level. Social studies sits lower, with about a third of fifth graders proficient. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Van Buren County, a position that reflects the strength of the upper-grade and science results in particular.
Because Davis serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the state does not test kindergarten through second grade, so those grades carry no assessment results. Multi-year trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these proficiency levels represent improvement or decline from prior years. Participation rates were also missing from the state data.
The housing market around Davis is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well below the Michigan statewide figure and considerably below the national figure, and the price-to-income ratio is modest. With mortgage rates in the mid-six-percent range, the estimated monthly cost of ownership remains approachable for working families, though no rental data was available for this area. For a family weighing a move to Decatur, the housing costs are likely to be among the more accessible in the county.
What the data does not cover is as relevant as what it does. There was no information on staffing ratios, class sizes, discipline practices, chronic absenteeism, course access, or specialized programs. Civil rights data was also absent. A parent considering Davis would have a solid academic picture for the upper elementary grades, especially the encouraging fifth-grade results, but would want to look into the school directly for details about teacher support, classroom environment, and any enrichment or intervention programs. The community itself offers a quiet, rural setting with outdoor recreation close at hand, and the school appears to be doing steady work preparing its older elementary students for the transition to middle school.
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