The top reported proficiency rate is 41% in Math. The lowest is 17% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on East Jordan Elementary School
East Jordan Elementary School sits at the center of a small, rural northern Michigan community where the Jordan River meets the south arm of Lake Charlevoix. The town grew around its ironworks heritage, and EJ, the international company once called East Jordan Iron Works, still anchors the local economy from its headquarters there. A few other industrial employers remain, supplemented by a modest tourism and recreation scene built around the waterfront, a farmers market, glassworks, and outfitters. The population has been gently declining for years, and the city has a master plan guiding future development, though no major growth projects are evident. Downtown is compact, centered on Main Street with a handful of historic commercial buildings, but the built environment is largely auto-oriented and quiet.
The school itself is a regular public elementary building serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade within East Jordan Public Schools. Enrollment is moderate for a rural elementary, and the student body is predominantly white, with small representation from Hispanic, multiracial, and other backgrounds. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which gives a sense of the economic context many families are working within. The data did not include figures for English learners or students with individualized education programs, so those population details are not available here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, the most recent results paint a mixed picture that shifts by grade and subject. Math proficiency is a relative bright spot in the early grades, with third and fourth graders demonstrating solid proficiency, but results drop sharply by fifth and sixth grade. English language arts follows a less consistent path, with fourth grade standing out as the strongest and the other grades landing lower. Science results for fifth grade land in the middle range, while social studies proficiency for that same grade is low. A parent may want to look into how instruction and support shift between the lower and upper elementary grades, since the data suggests a real dip as students move through the higher grade levels. Participation rate data was not available, and no multi-year trend information was provided, so it is hard to say whether these patterns are new or persistent.
When compared with other districts in Charlevoix County, East Jordan's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the bottom quartile. The comparison set includes seven county districts, five of which had proficiency data, and East Jordan falls below all of them. This does not capture everything about a school, but it is a factual signal worth engaging with directly. The county comparison did not include graduation or chronic absenteeism figures for this school, which is expected given that it is an elementary building and those metrics apply to secondary-level accountability.
Beyond test results, the available data is thin on several fronts parents often ask about. There is no information on course offerings, staffing ratios, discipline, attendance, or Title I status. Program offerings were not provided. The district brief turned up no recent curriculum changes, bond issues, or other shifts that would alter the school's trajectory in the near term. Gaps like these sometimes reflect the limited reporting for smaller rural schools, and a parent would do well to contact the building directly for details on classroom structure, intervention services, and enrichment opportunities.
Housing in the immediate area is somewhat more expensive than the Michigan state benchmark, with typical home values sitting above the state level and just below the national figure. Year-over-year values have eased slightly. Rent data was not available for this location. The price-to-income context suggests moderate affordability pressure, and with mortgage rates elevated nationally, buying power is a real consideration for families thinking about relocating into the attendance area.
What this school offers is a small-town, community-integrated elementary experience in a place with deep industrial roots and natural amenities. The academic results show genuine strength in the younger grades and a clear drop in the upper grades, particularly in math and social studies. Families drawn to rural northern Michigan life, with lake and river access and a tight community identity, may find the setting appealing, but the proficiency data warrants a direct conversation with school leadership about how the building supports learning progression from the early grades through the transition to middle school.
See more original research from School Decision →