Branch Line School

Branch Line School is a small, public PK-8 school in Livonia, MI, serving just 141 students as its own single-school district, separate from the much larger Livonia Public Schools School District that surrounds it.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Branch Line School is currently struggling academically, and it stands in stark contrast to the high-performing schools just minutes away. The school holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the 25th percentile statewide for 2025-2026, a sharp drop from the 48th percentile the year before. Test scores tell a similar story: only 27.3% of 4th graders were proficient in ELA, compared to 73.3% at the nearby Buchanan Elementary School, which is just 0.22 miles away and ranks in the 94th percentile. Math proficiency is also low, with just 23.1% of 3rd graders meeting state standards versus over 60% at Buchanan and Roosevelt Elementary School. Chronic absenteeism is another concern, affecting 32.6% of students—more than double the rate at nearby Hoover Elementary School (9.0%).

There are a few bright spots worth noting. In the upper grades, 7th-grade ELA proficiency (37.5%) nearly matched the state average, and 8th-grade social studies (42.9%) came close as well. However, these figures come from very small class sizes, so they can swing widely from year to year. The school also spends significantly less per student ($9,967) than neighboring Livonia schools (which spend $14,000–$24,000), and it has larger class sizes with a student-teacher ratio of 19.5. While the PK-8 model can offer continuity for families, the combination of declining test scores, high absenteeism, and limited resources suggests that parents should carefully compare this school with the higher-rated options available in the surrounding Livonia Public Schools School District.