The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Cooper Upper Elementary School
Cooper Upper Elementary School sits in the northern portion of Westland, a car-dependent suburb roughly eighteen miles west of downtown Detroit. The school serves only fifth and sixth graders, making it a short two-year bridge between lower elementary and middle school. It is part of Livonia Public Schools, a district whose footprint extends into the northernmost parts of Westland even though most of the city is served by the separate Wayne-Westland Community School District. Parents considering Cooper are looking at a district that publicly reported the opening of a new dedicated preschool facility, the Livonia Early Childhood Center, in fall 2024, expanding early childhood access for families across the district's boundaries.
The school's enrollment sits at a moderate size for a two-grade building, with both grades close to evenly split. Just under half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority white, with Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students making up most of the remaining enrollment, and a small Asian presence. The school reports no IEP or English learner figures, so families whose children receive special education or language support will want to ask the school directly about those services.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, Cooper's results are a mixed picture with a clear tilt toward literacy. English language arts proficiency runs in the mid-fifties across both grades, with sixth graders edging slightly above fifth graders. Math proficiency lands in the low forties for both grades, a step below the ELA numbers. Science, tested only in fifth grade, sits in the high thirties, and social studies, also fifth grade only, comes in lower still in the low thirties. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Wayne County, which is a meaningful strength given the size and diversity of that comparison set. The ELA results are the strongest signal here: a solid majority of students are meeting or exceeding proficiency in reading and writing. Math is more middling, and the content-area scores in science and social studies are softer. A parent may want to look into how the school supports students in those subjects, particularly social studies. Participation rate data was not available, and no multi-year trend data was reported, so there is no way to tell from the provided data whether these results represent improvement, stability, or decline over time. Because Cooper serves only fifth and sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism figure was provided.
Westland itself is a predominantly residential community that grew out of postwar Detroit factory housing. The Norwayne subdivision, one of the oldest parts of the city, was built immediately after World War II for returning soldiers. The built environment is mostly single-family subdivisions, strip commercial corridors, and the Westland Shopping Center mall, which anchors local retail. There is no traditional walkable downtown. Hines Park runs through the northern part of the city and offers bike paths and wildlife corridors, and the city is known for having an abundance of parks. The population has been gradually declining in recent years, and the most notable development on the horizon is the planned redevelopment of the former Eloise psychiatric hospital site into a commercial center and hotel.
The housing market around the school is relatively affordable compared with both state and national benchmarks. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit well below the Michigan median and roughly in the lower portion of the national range. Rents are modest, and the estimated monthly mortgage cost runs slightly higher than typical rent, which means buying is somewhat more expensive month-to-month than renting in this area. Homes tend to spend about a month and a half on the market, and listing prices in Wayne County have edged down slightly year over year while inventory has grown. For families, this translates to a relatively accessible housing market with reasonable entry points for ownership, set in a mature suburban landscape without the premium pricing of closer-in Detroit suburbs.
What Cooper offers is a focused two-year upper elementary experience in a district that performs well relative to its county peers, with its clearest academic strength in literacy. The surrounding community is quiet, park-rich, and affordable, though not walkable or commercially vibrant in a traditional downtown sense. Families whose children are strong readers and who value a stable, mid-century suburban setting will find a workable fit here. Those concerned about math, science, or social studies performance, or who need clarity on special education and English learner services, should bring those questions directly to the school.
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