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William A Pearson Elementary

Public, Magnet Grades K-5

135^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 91% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

William A Pearson Elementary is a K-5 public school in South Lyon, MI, serving 576 students as part of the highly-rated South Lyon Community Schools district.

Pearson Elementary is a standout performer, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger for six consecutive years and ranking in the 91st percentile of Michigan elementary schools. Its academic results are consistently strong across all subjects and grade levels, with proficiency rates ranging from about 52% to 68% in recent testing. This consistency sets it apart from other schools in the district—for example, Pearson's 4th-grade ELA proficiency was 26 percentage points higher than Salem Elementary School's. The school also excels in 5th-grade Social Studies, where proficiency rates have run 13 to 24 points above the state average. Low chronic absenteeism (11.5%, versus a 27.9% state average) suggests a positive, engaging environment that supports learning. Within the district, Pearson is the clear leader, outranking peers like Sharon J Hardy Elementary and Sayre Elementary by significant margins.

That said, there are a few areas worth noting. While Pearson is a top-tier school within its district, neighboring districts like Northville Public Schools and Novi Community School District post even higher scores—for instance, Thornton Creek Elementary sees proficiency rates in the 70-85% range. Pearson also shows a slight dip in 5th-grade math (56.4% proficient) compared to its 3rd and 4th-grade scores, and its Special Education subgroup ranks notably lower (42nd percentile), suggesting room for growth in supporting those students. Finally, the 2025-2026 school year saw a modest decline across most subjects compared to the prior year—worth monitoring to see if it's a blip or a trend. Overall, Pearson offers exceptional, well-rounded academics in a supportive setting, making it a top choice for most families in the area.

576

Students ?

17.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,748

Per pupil spending ?

16.0%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

57900 11 Mile Rd
South Lyon, MI 48178-9732

(248) 573-8750

District: South Lyon Community Schools

Students who attend William A Pearson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Centennial Middle School

Racial breakdown:

White:

76.7%

Asian:

9.0%

Hispanic:

5.9%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare William A Pearson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 83rd percentile in 2019 → 91st in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Michigan average (62% vs 38% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 9% of Michigan elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 8 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school62%

District avg53%

Michigan avg38%

135^th of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Top 9%▲ up 8 pts since 2019

From top 17% (2019) to top 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 8Elementary Schools in the South Lyon Community Schools

73^rd of 625South Lyon Community 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
2026	90.0	135 of 1492	91.0%	★★★★★
2025	90.7	109 of 1488	92.7%	★★★★★
2024	89.8	116 of 1486	92.2%	★★★★★
2023	89.6	119 of 1470	91.9%	★★★★★
2022	90.1	102 of 1344	92.4%	★★★★★
2021	89.4	74 of 1153	93.6%	★★★★★
2019	79.3	239 of 1408	83.0%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	87.5	115 of 1343	91.4%	★★★★★
2025	87.1	121 of 1338	91.0%	★★★★★
2024	87.7	102 of 1342	92.4%	★★★★★
2023	86.3	120 of 1321	90.9%	★★★★★
2022	87.0	97 of 1106	91.2%	★★★★★
2021	81.1	117 of 902	87.0%	★★★★☆
2019	70.9	281 of 1171	76.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	68.4	326 of 1352	75.9%	★★★★☆
2025	73.8	248 of 1346	81.6%	★★★★☆
2024	57.5	504 of 1381	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	28.3	986 of 1350	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	58.2	415 of 1134	63.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	88.0	125 of 1372	90.9%	★★★★★
2025	89.2	113 of 1366	91.7%	★★★★★
2024	86.1	136 of 1347	89.9%	★★★★☆
2023	87.7	108 of 1334	91.9%	★★★★★
2022	88.8	87 of 1139	92.4%	★★★★★
2021	88.6	58 of 915	93.7%	★★★★★
2019	81.1	165 of 1196	86.2%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	39.7	147 of 252	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.0	138 of 225	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.4	141 of 195	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	78.8	225 of 1199	81.2%	★★★★☆
2025	83.5	161 of 1206	86.7%	★★★★☆
2024	83.3	151 of 1204	87.5%	★★★★☆
2023	83.0	156 of 1198	87.0%	★★★★☆
2022	84.7	120 of 1102	89.1%	★★★★☆
2021	84.6	97 of 1005	90.3%	★★★★★
2019	71.9	270 of 1128	76.1%	★★★★☆

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)

Female (2026)91st percentile~ school

Male (2026)91st percentile~ school

White (2026)81st percentile-10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)76th percentile-15 vs school

Special Education (2025)42nd percentile-51 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts64%+23 vs state

Math63%+25 vs state

Science63%+23 vs state

Social Studies52%+24 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, May 16, 2019

Non white kids are getting bullied in this school. My kids comes home crying most of the days. He complains he does not have friends and kids in lower grade call him names in recess. The lunch time is like free for all environments. Close Quote

Schools Near William A Pearson Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				M-Step English Language Arts (2026)			M-Step Math (2026)			M-Step Science (2026)	M-Step Social Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
William A Pearson Elementary	Public, Magnet	K-5	57900 11 Mile Rd	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(248) 573-8750	576	33	17.6	16.0%	442 (76.7%)	15 (2.6%)	34 (5.9%)	52 (9.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.7%)	90	135^th of 1492 public elementary schools	91.0%		90.7	109^th of 1488 public elementary schools	92.7%	26	56.7	65.7	68.2	65.6	67.6	56.4	62.7	51.8	$13,748	$930	$12,818
Sharon J Hardy Elementary School	Public	K-5	24650 Collingwood Dr	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(248) 573-8650	570	40	14.3	8.2%	426 (74.7%)	9 (1.6%)	15 (2.6%)	93 (16.3%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.2%)	79.1	281^st of 1492 public elementary schools	81.2%		87.5	165^th of 1488 public elementary schools	88.9%	116	40.2	60.7	69.9	53.7	75.7	46.2	53.8	36.6	$17,793	$1,006	$16,787
Frank E Bartlett School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	350 School St	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(248) 573-8300	483	28	17.4	18.2%	384 (79.5%)	12 (2.5%)	28 (5.8%)	45 (9.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.7%)	69.2	420^th of 1492 public elementary schools	71.8%		70	411^th of 1488 public elementary schools	72.4%	9	44.1	60.5	50.0	52.2	62.2	37.8	44.6	32.4	$13,775	$812	$12,963
Sayre Elementary School	Public	K-5	23000 Valerie St	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(248) 573-8500	450	27	16.4	14.0%	387 (86.0%)	5 (1.1%)	20 (4.4%)	12 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.8%)	79.2	275^th of 1492 public elementary schools	81.6%		82.7	233^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	84.3%	42	57.5	53.4	63.2	63.8	50.7	43.4	55.3	39.5	$14,386	$502	$13,884
Ann L Dolsen Elementary School	Public	K-5	56775 Rice St	New Hudson	48165	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(248) 573-8400	427	27	16.1	12.2%	242 (56.7%)	30 (7.0%)	10 (2.3%)	124 (29.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.9%)	75.9	325^th of 1492 public elementary schools	78.2%		77.3	302^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	79.7%	23	43.9	68.3	60.0	64.9	52.4	35.7	57.1	35.7	$16,419	$946	$15,472
Kent Lake Elementary School	Public	K-5	30181 Kent Lake Rd	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(248) 573-8350	518	30	17.1	24.1%	430 (83.0%)	5 (1.0%)	32 (6.2%)	34 (6.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.9%)	77	306^th of 1492 public elementary schools	79.5%		76.9	308^th of 1488 public elementary schools	79.3%	2	57.3	44.2	66.3	62.7	49.4	45.9	53.1	38.8	$14,457	$586	$13,872
William A Brummer Elementary School	Public	K-5	9919 N Rushton Rd	South Lyon	48178	Oakland County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(248) 573-8520	469	28	17.0	16.2%	419 (89.3%)	7 (1.5%)	16 (3.4%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.5%)	79.4	271^st of 1492 public elementary schools	81.8%		83	229^th of 1488 public elementary schools	84.6%	42	51.2	54.0	59.0	57.1	58.7	48.7	59.0	39.7	$13,780	$775	$13,004
Deerfield Elementary School	Public	K-4	26500 Wixom Rd	Novi	48374	Oakland County	Novi Community School District	No	No	No	No	(248) 449-1700	459	27	17.1	5.2%	157 (34.2%)	25 (5.4%)	15 (3.3%)	237 (51.6%)	4 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	19 (4.1%)	94.1	68^th of 1492 public elementary schools	95.4%		95.1	52^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	96.5%	16	60.7	69.9		72.7	85.0				$17,094	$708	$16,386
Wixom Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	301 N Wixom Rd	Wixom	48393	Oakland County	Walled Lake Consolidated Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(248) 956-3400	438	26	16.9	30.4%	242 (55.3%)	63 (14.4%)	57 (13.0%)	49 (11.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.2%)	74.5	344^th of 1492 public elementary schools	76.9%		65.5	485^th of 1488 public elementary schools	67.4%	141	52.1	56.3	61.0	59.2	50.7	50.8	53.4	24.1	$15,614	$687	$14,927
Salem Elementary School	Public	K-5	7806 Salem Rd	Northville	48168	Wayne County	South Lyon Community Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(248) 573-8450	371	24	15.4	32.3%	279 (75.2%)	16 (4.3%)	7 (1.9%)	44 (11.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.5%)	54.3	634^th of 1492 public elementary schools	57.5%		64.9	495^th of 1488 public elementary schools	66.7%	139	46.9	39.4	34.8	48.4	50.7	36.4	40.9	24.2	$16,077	$1,080	$14,996

Frequently Asked Questions about William A Pearson Elementary

What is the racial makeup of William A Pearson Elementary?

Students at William A Pearson Elementary are 77% White, 9% Asian, 6% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 3% African American.

Is William A Pearson Elementary a good school?

Yes. William A Pearson Elementary ranks in the top 9.0% of Michigan elementary schools.

What district is William A Pearson Elementary in?

South Lyon Community Schools

How many students attend William A Pearson Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 576 students attended William A Pearson Elementary.

What schools do graduates of William A Pearson Elementary attend?

Students who attend William A Pearson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Centennial Middle School

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2025–26 M-Step, PSAT & SAT test scoresSep 4, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 6, 2026

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.