The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Science. The lowest is 45% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Parma Elementary School
Parma Elementary School sits on the south side of Parma, a small rural village in Jackson County, and serves children from preschool through fifth grade as part of the Western School District. The village itself has an agricultural heritage, with farmland still surrounding the residential core, and one large manufacturer, Michigan Automotive Compressors, along the I-94 corridor. There is no traditional downtown. Civic life centers on the village library, housed in a former interurban trolley station, and Groner Park. Most residents own their homes, and daily life is car-dependent, with two interstate exits nearby connecting Parma to Jackson to the east and Albion to the west. Housing here runs well below both the state and national benchmarks, making this one of the more affordable corners of the county for families looking to buy.
Academically, Parma Elementary posts results that place it in the top quartile among districts in Jackson County on an overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades. The school's performance tells a clear story across grade levels. Third graders are particularly strong in math, with a large majority testing proficient, and just over half proficient in English language arts. By fourth grade, math proficiency drops, though English language arts rises. In fifth grade, the decline in math becomes more pronounced, with fewer than half of tested students reaching proficiency. English language arts in fifth grade holds above the midpoint, and science results are strong. Social studies is the weakest area in fifth grade, with fewer than half proficient. The pattern of strong early-grade math followed by a slide in the upper elementary years is the most consistent thread in the data, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly if their child is approaching fourth or fifth grade.
The student body is predominantly white, with small Hispanic and multiracial populations and very few students in other racial or ethnic categories. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Information on English learner enrollment and special education participation was not available in the data provided. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving this grade band, with the largest group in kindergarten and smaller cohorts in the upper grades.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and the absence of that metric reflects the grade range served rather than any gap in performance. The same applies to college readiness measures. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. No information on course access, staffing ratios, discipline, or attendance was provided.
The housing market around Parma is modest and stable. Home values have shown gentle year-over-year appreciation, and the price-to-income ratio sits below the national level, meaning a family earning a typical income faces a relatively lighter burden buying here than in many parts of the country. Rental data was not available. The broader economic picture includes a steady national unemployment rate and median household income that has been inching upward over recent years, though those are national figures rather than Parma-specific ones.
The most important thing a family needs to know is structural. According to publicly reported information from the Western School District, Parma Elementary was one of three elementary schools closed and consolidated into a newly built Western Elementary School, which opened in early 2026. Warner and Bean elementaries were also closed as part of the same reorganization. This means that while the academic data on this page reflects Parma Elementary's most recent state testing results, families looking at this school should understand that the building has been retired and its students, along with attendance boundaries across the district, have been redrawn. The academic track record captured here speaks to the quality of instruction and student outcomes in the Parma community, and those results are strong relative to the county. But the physical school a child would attend going forward is the consolidated Western Elementary, and questions about how that transition affected class composition, staff, and programs are worth raising directly with the district.
For a family drawn to a quiet, affordable, rural setting with a close-knit community feel, the Parma area has offered solid elementary academic results, particularly in the early grades. The upper-grade math decline is a real soft spot to watch. And the consolidation means this school's identity is now part of a larger district-wide elementary structure rather than a standalone village school.
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