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Bowen Elementary

Q: Is Bowen Elementary a good school?

Bowen Elementary ranks 912 th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

912^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,488 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 39% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Bowen Elementary is a public elementary school in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving 348 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Kentwood Public Schools district, which is ranked 317 out of 613 districts in the state.

Bowen Elementary faces several challenges, including below-average academic performance, particularly in 5th-grade Math and Social Studies. The school's performance varies across different student subgroups, with relatively strong results for African American students but weaker performance for Asian and White students, as well as English Language Learners and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Bowen Elementary also has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 20.3% to 30.9% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

While Bowen Elementary spends more per student ($15,170 in 2023-2024) compared to the state average, this has not translated into better academic outcomes. The school's performance is generally lower than nearby Glenwood Elementary, Meadowlawn Elementary, and Brookwood Elementary, which are also part of the Kentwood Public Schools district. Addressing the school's challenges, such as low academic performance and high chronic absenteeism, will be crucial for improving the educational experience and outcomes for the students at Bowen Elementary.

357

Students ?

15.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,170

Per pupil spending ?

78.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4483 Kalamazoo Ave SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49508-4622

(616) 455-5220

District: Kentwood Public Schools

Students who attend Bowen Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Crestwood Middle School
High:	East Kentwood High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

35.3%

Asian:

23.5%

Hispanic:

18.2%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Bowen Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 36th percentile in 2015 → 39th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (32% vs 39% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Social Studies scores 13 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg39%

Michigan avg39%

912^th of 1,488

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 39%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 36% (2015) to bottom 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 10Elementary Schools in the Kentwood Public Schools

317^th of 613Kentwood Public Schools among Michigan districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	36.8	912 of 1488	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.1	711 of 1486	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.9	786 of 1470	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	54.4	565 of 1344	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	40.3	669 of 1153	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.2	801 of 1408	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.7	1056 of 1448	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.9	1110 of 1466	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	30.6	1097 of 1548	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	39.0	1019 of 1580	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2014	44.7	929 of 1533	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2013	24.8	1258 of 1563	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	18.0	1383 of 1566	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.3	1304 of 1552	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	48.7	1088 of 1552	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	47.3	1102 of 1589	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	55.3	901 of 1577	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	63.6	636 of 1565	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2006	46.2	1065 of 1545	31.1%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	35.7	213 of 369	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	59.5	104 of 348	70.1%	★★★★☆
2023	60.6	85 of 321	73.5%	★★★★☆
2019	69.0	47 of 212	77.8%	★★★★☆
2018	59.5	137 of 475	71.2%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	23.4	82 of 95	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.5	76 of 97	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.6	72 of 84	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.4	40 of 51	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.8	26 of 29	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	7.2	95 of 101	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	43.7	92 of 173	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.4	64 of 184	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.5	69 of 180	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	65.6	28 of 98	71.4%	★★★★☆
2021	54.4	22 of 42	47.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.1	34 of 117	70.9%	★★★★☆
2018	35.6	179 of 270	33.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	997 of 1338	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	53.0	576 of 1342	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.7	708 of 1321	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	27.3	842 of 1106	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	35.5	600 of 902	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.5	682 of 1171	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.3	1014 of 1443	29.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	44.3	726 of 1346	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.8	420 of 1381	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.2	428 of 1350	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	71.0	217 of 1099	80.3%	★★★★☆
2021	60.1	241 of 749	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.3	446 of 1134	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	39.1	906 of 1397	35.1%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	40.5	782 of 1366	42.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.4	758 of 1347	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.0	829 of 1334	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	60.6	401 of 1139	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.8	539 of 915	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.0	663 of 1196	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.4	1030 of 1446	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	29.9	937 of 1253	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2025)47th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)46th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)43rd percentile+4 vs school

African American (2025)42nd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)25th percentile-13 vs school

White (2018)25th percentile~ school

Asian (2025)14th percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts36%-6 vs state

Math35%-3 vs state

Science28%-12 vs state

Social Studies16%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near Bowen Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSAT English Language Arts (2025)	PSAT Mathematics (2025)	M-Step English Language Arts (2025)					M-Step Math (2025)					M-Step Science (2025)		M-Step Social Studies (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bowen Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4483 Kalamazoo Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Kentwood Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 455-5220	357	23	15.3	78.2%	63 (17.6%)	126 (35.3%)	65 (18.2%)	84 (23.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	36.8	912^th of 1488 public elementary schools	38.7%		49.1	711^th of 1486 public elementary schools	52.2%	201			39.0	29.4	39.6			41.5	33.3	32.7			27.8		16.4		$15,170	$2,422	$12,748
Meadowlawn Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4939 Burgis Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Kentwood Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 534-4608	339	21	15.9	90.3%	58 (17.1%)	109 (32.2%)	68 (20.1%)	65 (19.2%)	5 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (10.0%)	43.9	813^th of 1488 public elementary schools	45.4%		42.2	816^th of 1486 public elementary schools	45.1%	3			55.1	38.8	50.0			46.9	31.4	26.9			26.9		9.6		$15,666	$2,565	$13,100
Sherwood Global Studies Academy	Public	PK, KG-6	3859 Chamberlain Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Grand Rapids Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 819-3095	121	10	11.6	76.9%	8 (6.6%)	70 (57.9%)	29 (24.0%)	5 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (7.4%)	20.3	1154^th of 1488 public elementary schools	22.4%		26.3	1078^th of 1486 public elementary schools	27.5%	76				23.8	42.9	14.3		15.0			14.3		28.6				$21,981	$6,063	$15,918
New Branches Charter Academy	Public, Magnet, Charter	K-8	3662 Poinsettia Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	New Branches Charter Academy	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(616) 243-6221	345	27	12.6	89.0%	34 (9.9%)	176 (51.0%)	89 (25.8%)	13 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (9.6%)	16.5	1234^th of 1488 public elementary schools	17.1%		19.1	1176^th of 1486 public elementary schools	20.9%	58	56.0	24.0	10.8	22.2	29.0	33.3	42.9	18.9	13.0	9.4	10.3	14.3	18.8	28.0	15.6	36.0	$13,205	$3,205	$10,000
Brookwood Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5465 Kalamazoo Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Kentwood Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 455-0030	370	27	13.8	76.2%	75 (20.3%)	167 (45.1%)	49 (13.2%)	41 (11.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (9.7%)	41.1	844^th of 1488 public elementary schools	43.3%		40.7	836^th of 1486 public elementary schools	43.7%	8			32.8	29.4	42.9			35.9	27.5	33.3			36.5		31.7		$16,661	$2,658	$14,002
Challenger Elementary	Public	K-5	2475 52nd St SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Kentwood Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 698-2524	413	25	16.8	80.1%	70 (16.9%)	186 (45.0%)	60 (14.5%)	56 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.9%)	43.9	811^th of 1488 public elementary schools	45.5%		44.2	778^th of 1486 public elementary schools	47.6%	33			43.0	43.4	47.3			40.7	36.8	26.8			26.8		14.3		$13,655	$2,751	$10,904
KenOSha Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1353 Van Auken St SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Grand Rapids Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 819-2696	118	8	15.7	94.1%	14 (11.9%)	67 (56.8%)	21 (17.8%)	3 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (11.0%)								(n/a)					20.0								13.6				$17,773	$5,680	$12,092
Central Kelloggsville Elementary	Public	3-5	4625 Jefferson Ave SE	Grand Rapids	49548	Kent County	Kelloggsville Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 532-1580	494	27	18.1	82.8%	62 (12.6%)	165 (33.4%)	201 (40.7%)	28 (5.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (7.3%)	17.2	1219^th of 1488 public elementary schools	18.1%		13.2	1279^th of 1486 public elementary schools	13.9%	60			17.4	28.2	21.1			17.9	21.8	10.5			22.5		20.8		$13,947	$1,693	$12,253
Glenwood Elementary	Public	K-5	912 Silverleaf St SE	Grand Rapids	49508	Kent County	Kentwood Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 455-2510	543	30	17.9	77.2%	123 (22.7%)	209 (38.5%)	118 (21.7%)	51 (9.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (7.7%)	52.1	685^th of 1488 public elementary schools	54.0%		49.4	704^th of 1486 public elementary schools	52.6%	19			49.2	66.3	25.7			45.8	58.0	20.3			24.3		13.5		$14,455	$2,213	$12,242
Southeast Kelloggsville School	Public	K-2	240 52nd St SE	Grand Rapids	49548	Kent County	Kelloggsville Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(616) 532-1590	287	18	15.7	82.6%	32 (11.1%)	121 (42.2%)	97 (33.8%)	15 (5.2%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	20 (7.0%)								(n/a)																	$15,154	$1,402	$13,752

Frequently Asked Questions about Bowen Elementary

What schools do graduates of Bowen Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bowen Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Crestwood Middle School
High : East Kentwood High School

Is Bowen Elementary a good school?

Bowen Elementary ranks 912^th of 1488 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Bowen Elementary in?

Kentwood Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Bowen Elementary?

Students at Bowen Elementary are 35% African American, 24% Asian, 18% Hispanic, 18% White, 5% Two or more races.

How many students attend Bowen Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 357 students attended Bowen Elementary.

Rate Bowen Elementary!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.