Attwood School, Lansing MI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Attwood School

Attwood School is a regular public school in the Lansing Public School District, serving kindergarten through eighth grade on the south side of Lansing along Attwood Drive. It is a neighborhood school in a working-class part of Michigan's capital city, drawing a student body that is majority Black, with smaller Hispanic, white, and multiracial populations and very few Asian or American Indian students. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Attwood among the most economically disadvantaged schools in the district. The school does not have charter or magnet status, and its grade span means it does not produce a graduation rate or offer high school-level programs; that gap reflects the K-8 grade band, not a missing result.

On state assessments, Attwood's results are low across every subject and grade tested. In math, proficiency rates hover in the single digits from third through seventh grade, and in fifth and sixth grade the reported proficient count is zero. Eighth grade, which takes the PSAT rather than M-STEP, also shows math proficiency in the lowest reported band. English language arts results are somewhat higher but still modest, with the strongest showing in eighth grade ELA and the weakest in sixth. Science and social studies proficiency is minimal, with no students reaching proficiency in either tested grade for social studies and only a handful in fifth-grade science. When measured against other districts in Ingham County, Attwood's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent weighing this school may want to look into what academic supports and interventions the school and district are providing, and how the staff is working to move students toward grade-level expectations.

Participation rate data was not available, and the data set did not include IEP or English learner counts, so the full picture of special populations at Attwood is incomplete. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was also absent from the available data.

The surrounding community is Lansing itself, Michigan's state capital and a mid-sized city anchored by state government, insurance, healthcare, and education. The Grand River runs through downtown, and the Lansing River Trail provides a popular recreational corridor. Michigan State University sits in neighboring East Lansing, and Lansing Community College operates within the city. The Attwood neighborhood sits in a ZIP code where home values are well below the state and national benchmarks, making ownership relatively accessible for families, though rents have been rising. The broader affordability picture is shaped by incomes that are modest relative to housing costs, and current mortgage rates remain elevated.

The Lansing Public School District is in a period of transition and financial pressure. Voters approved a bond in late 2022 to fund facility improvements, security upgrades, technology, a rebuilt Willow Elementary, a new early childhood center, and athletic facility upgrades, all without raising the current tax rate. The early childhood center broke ground in summer 2024 and is expected to open in fall 2025. At the same time, the district is running a budget deficit tied to declining enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief funds, and the school board has begun discussing potential consolidation, though no specific buildings have been named. Families considering Attwood should be aware that the district's financial situation could lead to program changes or structural shifts in the coming years.

For a family looking at Attwood, the school offers a continuous K-8 pathway in a diverse, predominantly low-income neighborhood setting within a capital-city district investing in new facilities. The academic results as measured by state tests are currently weak, and the district's fiscal pressures add a layer of uncertainty. Those two realities are what a parent would want to press on in conversations with school leadership.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 21% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 15% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 9% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 21% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 20% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 14% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 18% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 40% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Science

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 17% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

This schoolLansing 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.