Hiller Elementary School

Hiller Elementary School in Madison Heights, MI, is a small PK-5 school within Lamphere Public Schools, serving 272 students in a predominantly low-income community where about 71% of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Hiller is a school of striking contrasts. On one hand, it shows exceptional results with its highest-needs students—ranking in the 72nd percentile for low-income students and the 65th percentile for English Language Learners in the most recent year. This suggests that targeted support programs are making a real difference for these groups. On the other hand, the school struggles significantly with its female students, who rank in just the 28th percentile compared to male students at the 66th percentile—a gap that has persisted for three straight years. Additionally, while 3rd graders outperform state averages in both reading and math, proficiency drops sharply by 5th grade, with math falling from 50% proficiency to just 21.9% (compared to the state's 32.2%). This "5th grade cliff" appears across all subjects and suggests a systemic challenge in sustaining academic growth as students move through the upper elementary grades.

Compared to its district peers, Hiller is the lowest-performing school in Lamphere Public Schools, trailing Lessenger Elementary School (84th percentile) and Edmonson Elementary School (57th percentile). The contrast with Lessenger is particularly telling—Lessenger has far lower poverty (39% vs. 71%) and much lower chronic absenteeism (16.6% vs. 35.3%). Hiller actually spends more per student ($21,696) than any other school in the data, yet this high investment hasn't translated into stronger outcomes. The school's chronic absenteeism rate of 35.3%—well above district and state averages—likely undermines the potential impact of that spending. For parents, this suggests that improving attendance and addressing the gender gap could be more powerful levers for improvement than additional funding alone.