Macarthur K8 University Academy, Lathrup Village MI

Original Research by School Decision on Macarthur K8 University Academy

MacArthur K8 University Academy sits in Lathrup Village, a small residential enclave fully enclosed by the larger city of Southfield in Oakland County. The school serves kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Southfield Public School District, offering families a continuous K-to-8 pathway under one roof rather than the more common split between separate elementary and middle buildings. Its enrollment is moderate for a K-8 configuration, and the student body is predominantly Black, with nearly half of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not reported, so those proportions remain unknown here.

On state assessments, the most recent M-STEP results tell a mixed but broadly encouraging story in the early grades. Third and fourth graders post solid proficiency rates in both math and English language arts, with the strongest showing in fourth-grade ELA. By fifth grade, proficiency drops noticeably across every tested subject: math, ELA, science, and social studies all come in lower. This is a pattern a parent may want to explore with the school, particularly whether the fifth-grade dip reflects a cohort effect, a curricular transition, or something about how students are adjusting as they approach the middle-grade years. The school does not yet have multi-year trend data available, so it is hard to say whether this year's results are typical or anomalous. Against its Oakland County peer set, the school's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint, which is a reasonably strong standing given that Oakland County contains some of the most affluent districts in the state.

Because MacArthur stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not produce high school-level outcomes. Families looking ahead will want to understand how students transition from here into Southfield's high school options, including Southfield High School for the Arts and Technology in neighboring Southfield and University High School, which is also located in Lathrup Village.

The school's setting is distinctive. Lathrup Village was conceived as a planned residential community by developer Louise Lathrup Kelley, built with strict masonry-construction standards and a street pattern that mixes geometric and curvilinear layouts, producing small triangular parks and unusual focal points throughout the neighborhood. Much of the city is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. There is no traditional downtown or commercial corridor; the former Annie Lathrup School on Southfield Road stands as the only historic structure on that stretch, and multiple redevelopment plans for the city center have stalled over how to treat that building. For day-to-day life, residents depend on Southfield for most shopping, dining, and employment. Walkability is limited by the suburban layout and the freeways that cut through the area.

Housing in the immediate zip code is relatively affordable compared with broader Oakland County. Typical home values sit below the county's median listing price, and rents are moderate. The county market overall has seen listing prices soften somewhat recently while inventory has grown, giving buyers more options than in past seasons. Homes still move within a month or so on average, so the market is not slow, just less frenzied than it was. Lathrup Village's small footprint and historic district designation limit large-scale new construction, so the housing stock is mostly older single-family homes in established styles.

At the district level, Southfield Public School District passed a bond issue in 2022 to improve and right-size school facilities, a capital investment that shapes the learning environment across the district and carries property-tax implications for residents. That investment may be relevant to families evaluating the condition and future of MacArthur's building and resources.

MacArthur fits families who want a K-8 continuity in a quiet, historically rooted residential setting, with reasonably strong early-grade academics and a peer environment that is overwhelmingly African American. The fifth-grade proficiency dip is the main academic question worth asking about. The surrounding community is stable, affordable by Oakland County standards, and closely tied to Southfield for nearly everything beyond the school walls.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 32% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 22% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 13% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 34% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 35% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 36% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 25% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 18% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

This schoolSouthfield 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 3Lower-income65%Higher-income55%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income69%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income46%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income36%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income40%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income81%Higher-income73%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income70%Higher-income61%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income61%0 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income42%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income19%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income23%5 pp gap