Farmington Steam Academy, Farmington Hills MI

Original Research by School Decision on Farmington Steam Academy

Farmington STEAMAcademy is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade public school in the Farmington Public School District, sitting on Twelve Mile Road in Farmington Hills. It is one of the district's lottery-based choice schools, and its name signals a focus on science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The enrollment is moderate for a K-8 building, with grade levels balanced fairly evenly across the span, which gives the school a continuous feel from early childhood through middle school.

The student body reflects the broader composition of Farmington Hills. White students form the largest group, with Asian students the next largest and a smaller Black population. Hispanic, multiracial, and American Indian students make up the remainder. A small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, well below what many public schools see, which points to a generally affluent community base. Data on English learners and special education populations was not available, so those looking for details on those services would want to ask the school directly.

Academically, this is a strong performer. On Michigan's M-STEP and PSAT assessments, proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science sit comfortably above state expectations for most grade levels. Third-grade math is especially high, and eighth-grade ELA, measured through the PSAT, stands out as a particular strength. Science results in eighth grade are also strong. Among tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Oakland County, a competitive set of fifty districts. The one area where results dip is fifth-grade social studies, which sits well below the school's other marks. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly given that a cut-score change flag was noted for social studies, which can affect year-over-year comparability.

Because Farmington STEAM Academy serves only through eighth grade, it has no graduation rate, and that metric does not apply here. Chronic absenteeism data and participation rates were not reported, so those pieces of the picture are missing from what was available. The school's Title I status was also not reported, and no staffing, course access, or discipline data was provided in the records reviewed.

Farmington Hills itself is a large, car-oriented northwestern suburb of Detroit. It has no traditional downtown of its own; that center sits in the neighboring city of Farmington, with which it shares its school district and library system. The built environment is a spread of residential subdivisions and corporate office parks, threaded by major roads like Twelve Mile, Orchard Lake, and the I-696 and M-5 corridors. SMART bus service provides limited public transit. The local economy leans heavily on automotive and financial-services corporate operations, with employers like Bosch, Nissan Technical Center, Hitachi, and Mercedes-Benz Financial Services maintaining offices here. Beaumont Hospital is the largest employer. The Zekelman Holocaust Center and the Governor Warner Mansion are among the community's civic and cultural anchors. Oakland Community College's Orchard Ridge campus adds an educational presence.

The housing market in the school's ZIP code sits below both the Oakland County median listing price and the national benchmark, making it relatively accessible for the region. Countywide, listings have been increasing year over year and homes spend about a month on the market, suggesting a market with adequate supply and moderate demand. Estimated mortgage costs run above rent for comparable housing, a factor worth weighing for families deciding between buying and renting in the area.

The district brief turned up no major recent changes, such as bond issues, school closures, or curriculum overhauls, that would clear a lasting-impact threshold. That stability may be reassuring to families looking for continuity.

For a parent, the read is fairly clear. Farmington STEAM Academy offers a solid academic pathway with above-average proficiency across most subjects, a diverse but relatively affluent peer group, and a K-8 structure that lets children stay in one building through middle school. The community is suburban and auto-dependent, with housing that is modestly priced for Oakland County. The gaps in available data on special populations, absenteeism, and program details mean that families with specific needs should go directly to the school for those answers.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 55% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 54% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 42% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 41% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 765%

School 65% · District 43% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 38% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 45% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 53% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 54% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 42% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 47% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 74% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 556%

School 56% · District 45% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 52% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 33% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 52% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolFarmington Public School District, 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 4Lower-income36%Higher-income73%37 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income61%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income55%Higher-income73%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income58%Higher-income69%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income71%25 pp gap