Summary:
Four Corners Montessori Academy is a single public charter school in Madison Heights, Michigan, serving grades PK-8 with 235 students as part of the Four Corners Montessori Academy district.
This school shows a clear split between strong upper-grade English Language Arts performance and significant struggles in early-grade math. In the most recent school year, 5th through 7th grade ELA proficiency exceeded state averages by 8.8 to 11.6 percentage points, with 7th grade hitting 50% proficiency versus the state's 38.4%. However, 3rd grade math proficiency was just 17.4%—a staggering 25.5 points below the state average—and 3rd grade ELA was similarly weak at 13% versus 38.2% statewide. The school's overall state ranking sits at the 41st percentile (874th out of 1,492 schools), down from the 45th percentile the prior year but up from the 33rd percentile two years ago. The 8th grade PSAT ELA score was a bright spot in 2024-2025 at 85.7% proficiency, though that dropped to 58.3% the following year, highlighting dramatic cohort-to-cohort volatility.
The most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism: 39.6% of students are chronically absent, nearly 12 points above the state rate of 27.9%. This likely contributes to the inconsistent test scores and the school's middling ranking. With a favorable 15.6:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $13,132, resources appear adequate. The Montessori approach may explain why literacy skills strengthen in later grades while math instruction lags in early years. Parents should note that small grade-level cohorts (potentially 15-30 students) make year-to-year comparisons unreliable, and the 2024-2025 school year appears to have been an exceptionally strong cohort across multiple subjects. The school earned 2 stars in each of the past three years, suggesting consistent but not outstanding overall performance.
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