The top reported proficiency rate is 11% in Math. The lowest is 9% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Herrington School
Herrington School sits on Bay Street in Pontiac, Michigan, part of the Pontiac City School District. It is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade, though the current enrollment shows no students in grade six, so in practice it functions as a K-through-five building. The school draws almost entirely from the surrounding Pontiac community, with a student body that is predominantly Black, along with a Hispanic population and smaller groups of multiracial, White, Asian, and American Indian students. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places Herrington among the schools serving a high-poverty population in Oakland County.
On state testing, the most recent M-STEP results show proficiency levels that are low across every tested subject and grade. In math, third graders reached a modest proficiency rate, while fourth and fifth graders landed in a range at or near the bottom of the reporting scale, with no students reaching the proficient threshold. English language arts followed a similar pattern, with each tested grade producing proficiency in the single-digit range and declining as students moved from third to fifth grade. Science and social studies, both tested only in fifth grade, also landed in the lowest reported band. When Herrington's overall proficiency is placed against other districts in Oakland County, it sits in the bottom quartile. These are the numbers the state reported, and they tell a consistent story of academic struggle across subjects. A parent considering this school may want to ask the administration directly about what interventions and supports are in place, since the data sections show the results but not the response.
Several data points that would help round out the picture are absent. Individualized education program rates and English learner rates were not reported, so the special-population composition of the school is not visible. Participation rates for state testing were also missing across the board, which means it is hard to know whether low proficiency reflects the performance of nearly all enrolled students or a subset who sat for the exam. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate do not apply here in the usual sense: Herrington is an elementary building, so there is no graduation rate to report, and the absenteeism figure was not provided. The school lists grade six in its served grades but enrolled no sixth graders, which may reflect a staffing or programmatic decision a parent would want to clarify with the district.
The surrounding community shapes what kind of environment a Herrington family is buying into. Pontiac is a mid-sized city that once ran on General Motors manufacturing and has spent decades working through the economic fallout of GM's departure. The former Silverdome site now hosts an Amazon fulfillment center, a visible symbol of the city's transition from heavy industry to logistics and warehousing work. Oakland County government offices provide public-sector employment, and healthcare and education contribute to the local job base. The downtown core along Woodward Avenue and Saginaw Street has a traditional grid with sidewalks and some retail and dining, but walkability drops off quickly outside that core, and major roads like M-59 and Telegraph Road carry heavy traffic. Housing in Pontiac is affordable compared with the broader Detroit metro, and the school's zip code shows home values well below both the state and national benchmarks. Rents are also modest relative to income. For families priced out of higher-cost Oakland County suburbs, Pontiac offers a lower barrier to ownership or rental, though the housing market here moves at its own pace.
The Pontiac City School District has broadened its offerings in recent years. It opened the International Technology Academy, a specialized school with a technology focus, giving families a distinct option within the public system. The district also runs P.E.A.C.E. Academy and a Tier III Intervention Academy as alternative education pathways for students who need a different setting. These publicly reported additions do not change what Herrington itself offers, but they signal a district working to build multiple routes for students with varying needs.
Herrington is a small elementary school serving a high-poverty student population in a city still finding its economic footing after decades of industrial loss. Its state test results are weak across subjects and grades, placing it near the bottom among Oakland County districts. The school's demographic profile and the community context explain part of that picture, but they do not change the results. Families looking at Herrington should weigh the affordability of the area and the proximity to district alternative programs against the academic outcomes as they currently stand, and they should bring their questions about intervention and support directly to the school.
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