The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Math. The lowest is 35% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Hillside Elementary School
Hillside Elementary School sits in Farmington Hills, a large northwestern suburb of Detroit and the second-largest community in Oakland County. The city is a blend of residential subdivisions and corporate office parks, home to U.S. headquarters operations for companies like Bosch, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and TD Auto Finance, along with Nissan Technical Center North America and Hitachi. The employer base leans heavily toward automotive and financial services. Publicly reported sources note that Farmington Hills is car-oriented with limited walkability, served by major thoroughfares and SMART transit, and that it shares its school district and library system with the smaller neighboring city of Farmington, where the historic downtown center sits. The Orchard Ridge campus of Oakland Community College is located in the city.
Hillside is a regular public elementary school in the Farmington Public School District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Its enrollment is on the larger side for a single elementary school, with fairly even distribution across the early grades and a smaller fifth-grade cohort. The student body is racially mixed: white students form the largest group, with substantial Asian and Black populations as well, and small Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiracial groups. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, Hillside's results paint a picture of a school performing solidly in math, with roughly half or slightly above half of tested students reaching proficiency across third, fourth, and fifth grades. Fifth-grade math was the strongest of the three. English language arts results show a clear upward trajectory across grade levels: third grade was the lowest, with fewer than half of students proficient, but by fifth grade the majority of tested students reached proficiency. Science was tested only in fifth grade, and just under half of students were proficient. Social studies, also a fifth-grade-only test, was the softest area, with about a third of students proficient. A parent may want to look into the social studies and third-grade literacy results further with the school. No trend data was available for prior years, and participation rates were not reported.
Against the comparison set of Oakland County districts, Hillside's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands above the midpoint. Oakland County is a large, affluent county with many districts, and Hillside holds its own in that company. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism comparisons were not applicable at the elementary level.
The housing market around the school reflects the broader Farmington Hills context. Home values in the school's zip code sit well above the state benchmark and moderately above the national benchmark, with modest year-over-year appreciation. Rental costs are relatively low compared to the estimated monthly mortgage payment, a gap partly explained by current mortgage rates near six and a half percent. The county market shows a healthy supply of active listings and homes moving in roughly a month, suggesting a balanced rather than overheated market. Families considering the area should know that buying into this zone carries a meaningful cost premium over renting, though rents themselves have dipped slightly year over year.
The district-level brief turned up no publicly reported changes of lasting impact, such as bond referenda, school closures, or major curriculum shifts, over the recent window searched. Farmington Public Schools operates eight elementary schools, three middle schools, and two high schools in Farmington Hills and neighboring Farmington, giving families a continuous K-12 pathway within the same district. Private options in the city include Mercy High School, Hillel Day School, Concordia Lutheran School, and St. Fabian Catholic School.
Hillside fits a family looking for a moderately sized, racially diverse elementary school in an established, education-oriented suburb with strong corporate employment nearby. Its math and upper-grade reading results are encouraging, while its social studies and early-grade literacy results are areas worth asking about.
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