The top reported proficiency rate is 66% in Science. The lowest is 38% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Mary Helen Guest Elementary School
Mary Helen Guest Elementary sits in the city of Walled Lake, a small northwestern suburb of Detroit in Oakland County. The city surrounds its namesake natural lake, which gives the place its identity, and the downtown area around Riley Park has a bit of walkable character anchored by the historic Foster Farmhouse, a relocated Underground Railroad stop. Beyond that downtown pocket, Walled Lake is primarily an auto-oriented suburban community where daily errands run along East Maple Road and Pontiac Trail. The city markets itself as a place to raise a family, and the housing stock reflects that, with single-family homes near the lake and along established streets plus some multifamily units. Growth is slow and the city is largely built out, with a tight housing market and low vacancy. The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools district headquarters and community education center are within the city, so civic and school functions sit close together rather than on separated campuses.
Mary Helen Guest is a regular public elementary serving kindergarten through fifth grade, and its enrollment is moderate for an elementary of its grade band. The student body is majority white, with Asian students forming the next largest group, followed by Hispanic and Black students and a small share of multiracial students. A substantial portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not have charter or magnet status. Data on individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those population figures are absent here rather than absent at the school.
On state assessments, the most recent M-STEP results show a school that performs above the midpoint among Oakland County districts when proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades are averaged together. That position reflects a solid academic standing relative to the county's roughly fifty districts. Within the school's own results, the clearest pattern is that older grades tend to outperform younger ones. Fifth grade stands out across the board, with a strong majority of students reaching proficiency in math, English language arts, and science. Third and fourth grade math results land around the midpoint, with roughly half of tested students proficient. English language arts in third grade is the softest result, with fewer than half of students reaching proficiency, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how early literacy instruction is structured. Social studies in fifth grade is also a lower result, though that subject's proficiency levels were subject to a cut-score change, which complicates year-to-year comparison.
No multi-year trend data was available for this school, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. Participation rates were also missing from the data set.
Because Mary Helen Guest is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and that metric does not apply to this grade range. Chronic absenteeism data was not available, nor were discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance figures. Program offerings were not provided, so the narrative cannot speak to extracurriculars, specialist classes, or intervention supports beyond what the assessment data implies. The district brief noted a publicly reported mention of a new Wixom Elementary groundbreaking in district financial materials, but details and timeline could not be confirmed, so that is left aside here.
Housing in the school's zip code is more affordable than both the national typical home value and the broader Oakland County market, sitting closer to the Michigan state benchmark. Rents are moderate relative to the region. The county market as a whole has seen listing inventory grow recently, with homes spending a moderate number of days on market. Mortgage rates and broader economic indicators remain in a familiar range. For a family weighing this area, Mary Helen Guest offers a suburban setting with a recognizable community identity, a diverse student body for the region, and state test results that generally hold their own against county peers, with particular strength in the upper elementary grades and room to examine in early literacy.
See more original research from School Decision →