The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 61% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Bemis Elementary School
Bemis Elementary School sits in Troy, a large, car-oriented suburb of Detroit known for its corporate footprint in automotive and financial services. The city spread across more than thirty square miles has no traditional walkable downtown. Civic life centers on distributed facilities like the Troy Community Center, the public library, and Somerset Collection, a major regional mall. Interstate 75 cuts through the city, and Big Beaver Road serves as the primary commercial spine lined with office towers and shopping centers. The housing market in the school's zip code runs above both state and national benchmarks, with typical home values approaching half a million dollars and rents that have dipped slightly year over year. Oakland County's broader market has seen a healthy supply of active listings and moderate demand, giving buyers some room to maneuver.
Bemis is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Troy School District, which operates a dozen elementary schools, four middle schools, and two high schools across the city. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary building, with fairly even distribution across the six grade levels. The student body stands out for its composition: a majority of students are Asian, with white students forming the next largest group and smaller populations of Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and American Indian students. Very few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the affluence of the surrounding community. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations could not be characterized here.
Academically, Bemis is a strong performer. On Michigan's M-STEP assessments, proficiency rates across third, fourth, and fifth grades are consistently high in both math and English language arts. Math results are particularly strong, with the large majority of students reaching proficiency at every tested grade. ELA proficiency holds solidly above the majority mark as well, with a gentle dip from third to fifth grade. Fifth-grade science shows a clear majority proficient, and social studies sits lower but still above the halfway point. Measured against districts in Oakland County, Bemis places in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This is a school where most students are meeting or exceeding state standards across the board, and the consistency from grade to grade suggests a stable instructional program rather than a single strong cohort.
Trend data was not available, so it is not possible to say whether these results reflect steady improvement, a plateau, or year-to-year fluctuation. Participation rates were also missing from the state data, though the tested counts at each grade level appear robust relative to enrollment. No chronic absenteeism figures were provided, and no discipline, staffing, or course-access data was included in the available materials. Parents interested in those dimensions may want to ask the school directly.
Because Bemis is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report and no AP or career-pathway data to weigh. What the data does show is a well-resourced community school with strong academic outcomes, a diverse but relatively affluent student population, and a district that appears stable, with no recent bond issues, referendums, or curriculum overhauls surfacing in the available search. The Troy School District is a mature system in a built-out suburb, and Bemis fits that profile: established, academically high-performing, and serving a community where school quality is reflected in the local housing market.
For families considering this area, Bemis offers a solid academic foundation in the early grades with consistently strong state assessment results. The trade-off is a suburban setting where nearly everything requires a car and where home prices run well above the state median. The peer environment is shaped by a student body that is predominantly Asian and white, with very low economic need. Those characteristics will suit some families well and matter less to others, but the academic picture is clear.
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