The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 39% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Lessenger Elementary School
Lessenger Elementary School sits in Madison Heights, an inner-ring suburb of Detroit about a dozen miles north of downtown, within the Lamphere Public Schools district. It serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, with relatively even distribution across the grade levels.
Academically, the most recent M-STEP results paint a picture of a school that holds its own, particularly in English language arts. Proficiency in ELA climbs steadily from third grade through fifth, with the oldest tested grade showing a clear majority of students meeting or exceeding state standards. That upward trajectory across grade levels is a genuinely encouraging pattern, suggesting students build skills as they move through the building. Math results are more mixed. Third and fourth grade land near the middle of the range, while fifth grade math proficiency drops to the lower portion of the spectrum. Science and social studies results for fifth graders sit in a similar mid-range territory. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Oakland County, a county with a large cohort of districts and a wide performance spread. That positioning is a solid standing for a school in a county known for strong public systems.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. That gap reflects the grade band, not a missing result. We also looked for chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course access data and found none reported in the available sources, so those dimensions of school life are not represented here. A parent wanting a fuller picture of school climate may want to ask the school directly about those areas.
A substantial share of Lessenger students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the working-class character of much of Madison Heights. The student body is majority white, with smaller representation across Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. The broader community has a notable Asian presence, anchored in part by a large Asian supermarket and the Chinese Cultural Center, and that cultural texture is reflected to some degree in the school's composition. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available.
Madison Heights is an auto-oriented suburb defined by its highway access, with Interstate 75 running along the western edge and a cross interstate forming the southern border. The built environment is largely single-family residential streets woven among commercial corridors, shopping centers, and industrial parks. There is no traditional downtown; civic life centers on the municipal complex along Thirteen Mile Road. The city has experienced a steady population decline since its mid-century peak, but it retains a strong commercial and industrial tax base, with a meaningful portion of revenue drawn from business and light industrial property rather than residences alone. Publicly reported sources note the city is part of Oakland County's Automation Alley tech corridor, and Hungry Howie's Pizza maintains its corporate headquarters there.
For families considering the housing market, the area around Lessenger is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit well below the state median and considerably below the national figure, and rents are similarly modest. The county-level market has seen a recent increase in active listings and a slight easing of median listing prices, giving buyers somewhat more inventory than in recent years. Estimated mortgage costs run higher than typical rents, which may make renting the more accessible entry point for families new to the area.
Lamphere Public Schools is one of two districts serving Madison Heights, operating on its own campuses separate from the Madison District Public Schools system. We searched for recent district-level changes such as bond measures, curriculum shifts, or budget actions and found nothing that cleared a lasting-impact threshold, so there is little to report on that front.
Lessenger Elementary presents as a solid community school with strengthening literacy outcomes and a math program that could use attention in the upper grades. Its position relative to Oakland County peers is respectable, and the surrounding neighborhood offers affordable housing in an established, auto-oriented suburb with a diverse commercial base. Families for whom that profile fits will find a school worth a closer look.
See more original research from School Decision →