The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Patterson Intermediate Learning Center
Patterson Intermediate Learning Center is a two-grade public school in Tecumseh, Michigan, serving only third and fourth graders as part of Tecumseh Public Schools. It is one of two intermediate buildings the district operates for this age band, alongside Herrick Park Intermediate Learning Center. The campus sits on North Van Buren Street, separate from the downtown civic core along Chicago Boulevard where City Hall and the Tecumseh Center for the Arts anchor community life. The school draws from a predominantly white student body, with a modest Hispanic presence and a few students from other racial backgrounds. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The enrollment is small, which is typical for a building serving just two elementary grades.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessment, the most recent results tell a mixed story that shifts between grades. Third graders performed meaningfully better than fourth graders in both subjects. Among third graders, roughly half reached proficiency in English language arts, and slightly fewer did so in math. Fourth-grade results dropped off: math proficiency fell to a level where fewer than a quarter of tested students met the bar, and ELA proficiency also declined. The pattern of stronger third-grade results followed by weaker fourth-grade results holds across both subjects and is worth a parent's attention. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking what supports are in place for the transition between grades and whether the fourth-grade dip reflects a known challenge the building is working on.
Against its county peers, Patterson's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint among districts in Lenawee County. The county's district-level proficiency ranges fairly widely, and Patterson falls toward the lower portion of that spread. This positions the school below the county median but not at the bottom. Because the school serves only two grades, its proficiency index is built from a narrower set of tested subjects and grade levels than a building spanning many grades, which is inherent to its design.
The school has older science and social studies results on file, but those come from a year when the building apparently served eighth graders, a configuration it no longer holds. Those results do not reflect Patterson as it currently operates, so they tell a parent little about today's third and fourth graders. Participation rate data was not available, and information on individualized education programs and English learners was not reported. We looked for staffing, attendance, discipline, and course access details but found none, so those are left out rather than estimated. No graduation rate applies here, since the school does not serve high school grades, and chronic absenteeism figures were not available.
Tecumseh itself is a small city with a traditional main-street downtown along M-50, the River Raisin running through, and a heritage rooted in manufacturing. The community was once called the Refrigeration Capital of the World because of Tecumseh Products, which has since departed, leaving a contaminated plant site now undergoing brownfield cleanup and mixed-use redevelopment. The local economy blends automotive supply manufacturing with retail, dining, and public-sector jobs. Kirchhoff Automotive is the largest employer, and the school district itself is the second largest. The housing market in the school's zip code sits close to the statewide benchmark and well below the national figure, with a price-to-income ratio that remains modest by national standards. Estimated monthly mortgage costs run slightly above local rents, and home values have been climbing at a pace that outstrips both state and national appreciation rates, suggesting a market that is gaining ground but still relatively accessible.
Publicly reported district information did not surface any recent referendums, curriculum shifts, or other lasting-impact changes for Tecumseh Public Schools. The district brief search came up empty on those fronts, so there is nothing to pass along.
For a parent weighing Patterson, the picture is one of a small, narrowly graded building in an affordable small city with a walkable downtown and stable civic life. Academic results are middling overall, with a clear fourth-grade dip that stands out as the thing most worth asking about.
See more original research from School Decision →