The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Science. The lowest is 18% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Whittemoreprescott Area Elementary
Whittemore-Prescott Area Elementary sits in the small rural community of Whittemore in southwestern Iosco County, serving kindergarten through sixth grade as part of the Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools district. The school draws from a town with a very small population, a cost of living well below the national average, and a rural, car-dependent way of life along M-65. Housing here is quite affordable compared with both Michigan and the country as a whole, with home values running far below the state benchmark. The community has been experiencing a gradual population decline rather than growth, with no major new developments on the horizon. For a family already rooted in the area, or one drawn to rural living at a low price point, this is the academic setting that comes with it.
The student body is small for a school covering seven grade levels. Nearly all students are white, with small Hispanic, Black, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native populations. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the limited economic profile of the surrounding area. Data on special education enrollment and English learners was not available in the provided records, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
On Michigan's M-STEP assessments for the most recent school year, proficiency rates were generally low and uneven across grades and subjects. Math results ranged from the upper twenties in third grade down to the low single digits in fifth grade, with fourth and sixth grade landing in the low twenties. English language arts showed a wide swing, from single digits in third grade to the low thirties in fourth grade, then dropping again in fifth grade and rising to the mid-twenties in sixth. Science proficiency in fifth grade was in the high twenties, and social studies landed in the high teens. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Iosco County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly to understand what supports are in place for students performing below grade level and whether the grade-to-grade swings reflect something about instruction, cohort size, or both.
Because this is an elementary school serving only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report and no state testing for kindergarten through second grade. Kindergarten and first and second grade students are not yet in the tested grades, which is the standard reason those results are absent. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing, and attendance was not available in the records reviewed, so those aspects of the school environment cannot be described here. Program offerings such as advanced coursework, career pathways, or dual-credit options do not apply to an elementary building and were not reported.
The locale itself offers a quiet, established small-town footprint. Whittemore has a handful of stores and small businesses along its main corridor, a community center with a horse arena operated by the local Chamber of Commerce, and the Whittemore Speedway, which is publicly reported as Michigan's longest continuously running race track. No public transit system serves the area, and no public library branch was identified in the town itself. Most residents drive to work, and daily life is organized around the car. The school sits on a campus along Prescott Road outside the immediate commercial center, with the district's junior-senior high school on a separate campus. An Amish private school, Shady Grove School, also serves a small number of elementary-age students in the area.
No recent district-level changes such as bond issues, curriculum shifts, or property-tax measures surfaced in the available research, so there is nothing to report on that front. Families considering this school are looking at a rural elementary program with modest academic results in a community where housing is inexpensive and life is quiet. The question for a parent is whether the school's instructional supports are strong enough for their child, and that is worth asking the school directly.
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