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TCAPS Montessori School

Q: Is TCAPS Montessori School a good school?

TCAPS Montessori School ranks 241 st of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-8

241^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 84% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

TCAPS Montessori School in Traverse City, MI, is a public Montessori magnet school within the Traverse City Area Public Schools district, serving 331 students in grades PK through 8 with a strong reputation for academic excellence.

This school stands out for its exceptional middle school performance. In 6th and 7th grades, math proficiency rates hit 85% and 77% respectively—roughly double the district averages—and 8th graders scored 74% on PSAT math versus a 37% district average. English Language Arts proficiency in grades 6 and 7 has held steady between 74% and 80% over the past three years, a full 20-25 points above district peers. The school has climbed from the 63rd percentile statewide in 2015-2016 to the 84th percentile today, earning a consistent 4-star rating. Notably, its low-income students rank in the 96th percentile statewide, earning 5 stars—a remarkable achievement that suggests the Montessori approach effectively supports all learners. The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 16.4, lower than larger nearby schools like Eastern Elementary School (18.5) and Willow Hill Elementary School (18.3).

While academics are strong overall, 5th-grade social studies is a relative weak spot, with only 37% proficiency—just slightly above the district average of 34%. Additionally, a recent gender gap has emerged, with boys ranking in the 88th percentile versus girls at the 72nd percentile in 2025-2026, a shift from prior years when both performed more equally. The school spends more per student ($16,808) than nearby elementaries like Westwoods Elementary School ($14,961) and Cherry Knoll Elementary School ($15,049), reflecting its specialized Montessori materials, teacher training, and extended grade span. For parents seeking a continuous, high-achieving educational pathway from early childhood through middle school, TCAPS Montessori offers a unique and compelling option within the district.

331

Students ?

16.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,808

Per pupil spending ?

17.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4053 Franke Rd
Traverse City, MI 49684-4609

(231) 933-6420

District: Traverse City Area Public Schools

Students who attend TCAPS Montessori School usually attend:

Middle:	East Middle School
High:	Traverse City High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

91.2%

African American:

3.3%

Hispanic:

2.1%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare TCAPS Montessori School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 63rd percentile in 2016 → 84th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Michigan average (60% vs 40% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 16% of Michigan elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 21 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school60%

District avg51%

Michigan avg40%

Elementary school

241^st of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Top 16%▲ up 21 pts since 2016

From top 37% (2016) to top 16% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

5^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Top 1%▲ up 14 pts since 2021

From top 15% (2021) to top 1% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 11Elementary Schools in the Traverse City Area Public Schools

146^th of 625Traverse City Area 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	81.7	241 of 1492	83.8%	★★★★☆
2025	85.5	199 of 1488	86.6%	★★★★☆
2024	87.5	157 of 1486	89.4%	★★★★☆
2023	85.3	178 of 1470	87.9%	★★★★☆
2022	78.5	237 of 1344	82.4%	★★★★☆
2021	74.0	238 of 1153	79.4%	★★★★☆
2019	67.7	402 of 1408	71.4%	★★★★☆
2018	67.4	488 of 1448	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	62.8	460 of 1466	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	61.9	570 of 1548	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2015	53.8	744 of 1580	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2014	60.8	617 of 1533	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2013	67.1	498 of 1563	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2012	47.8	886 of 1566	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	62.0	723 of 1552	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.6	955 of 1552	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	53.9	953 of 1589	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	72.3	417 of 1577	73.6%	★★★★☆
2007	66.4	552 of 1565	64.7%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	66.8	380 of 1343	71.7%	★★★★☆
2025	79.8	216 of 1338	83.9%	★★★★☆
2024	76.5	242 of 1342	82.0%	★★★★☆
2023	86.5	118 of 1321	91.1%	★★★★★
2022	79.3	163 of 1106	85.3%	★★★★☆
2021	71.0	193 of 902	78.6%	★★★★☆
2019	56.1	485 of 1171	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	71.8	389 of 1443	73.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	92.6	49 of 1352	96.4%	★★★★★
2025	85.0	99 of 1346	92.6%	★★★★★
2024	89.2	59 of 1381	95.7%	★★★★★
2018	73.0	272 of 1397	80.5%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	86.0	160 of 1372	88.3%	★★★★☆
2025	84.3	175 of 1366	87.2%	★★★★☆
2024	91.9	66 of 1347	95.1%	★★★★★
2023	86.1	126 of 1334	90.6%	★★★★★
2022	82.7	152 of 1139	86.7%	★★★★☆
2019	67.6	337 of 1196	71.8%	★★★★☆
2018	54.7	669 of 1446	53.7%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	70.9	307 of 1199	74.4%	★★★★☆
2025	78.2	237 of 1206	80.3%	★★★★☆
2024	84.1	143 of 1204	88.1%	★★★★☆
2023	80.2	195 of 1198	83.7%	★★★★☆
2022	78.5	195 of 1102	82.3%	★★★★☆
2021	66.6	289 of 1005	71.2%	★★★★☆
2019	59.4	431 of 1128	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.0	559 of 1253	55.4%	★★★☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	98.9	5 of 896	99.4%	★★★★★
2025	97.6	6 of 890	99.3%	★★★★★
2024	93.5	43 of 897	95.2%	★★★★★
2023	93.2	45 of 883	94.9%	★★★★★
2022	79.6	117 of 776	84.9%	★★★★☆
2021	78.6	100 of 675	85.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	98.0	5 of 789	99.4%	★★★★★
2025	93.6	37 of 789	95.3%	★★★★★
2024	89.5	60 of 771	92.2%	★★★★★
2023	92.7	35 of 770	95.5%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2023	87.7	81 of 776	89.6%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	97.2	10 of 687	98.5%	★★★★★
2025	96.3	14 of 696	98.0%	★★★★★
2024	88.6	60 of 701	91.4%	★★★★★
2023	88.9	58 of 688	91.6%	★★★★★
2021	71.7	119 of 577	79.4%	★★★★☆

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)

Elementary school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)96th percentile+13 vs school

Male (2026)88th percentile+4 vs school

White (2026)74th percentile-9 vs school

Female (2026)72nd percentile-12 vs school

Middle school

Female (2026)99th percentile~ school

White (2026)99th percentile~ school

Male (2023)90th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts66%+26 vs state

Science60%+21 vs state

Math59%+23 vs state

Social Studies37%~ state avg

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Thursday, January 4, 2024

This school unfortunately has a rather exclusive, unwelcoming culture and some safety concerns. There are unquestionably some very nice teachers and great students, but there are a plethora of administrative issues. Close Quote

Schools Near TCAPS Montessori School

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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)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)	PSAT Mathematics (2026)	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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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	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
TCAPS Montessori School	Public	PK, KG-8	4053 Franke Rd	Traverse City	49684	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 933-6420	331	20	16.4	17.5%	302 (91.2%)	11 (3.3%)	7 (2.1%)	5 (1.5%)	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	81.7	241^st of 1492 public elementary schools	83.8%		85.5	199^th of 1488 public elementary schools	86.6%	42	506.7	529.2	60.4	57.5	68.3	74.1	76.7	54.2	50.0	43.9	85.2	76.7	58.5	66.7	36.6	1815.8	$16,808	$717	$16,092
Central Grade School	Public	PK, KG-7	301 W Seventh St	Traverse City	49684	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-5910	510	30	17.0	42.4%	426 (83.5%)	17 (3.3%)	26 (5.1%)	24 (4.7%)	13 (2.5%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	82.9	231^st of 1492 public elementary schools	84.5%		81.8	248^th of 1488 public elementary schools	83.3%	17			49.3	61.0	69.6			45.7	43.8	62.8			66.1		53.6		$15,714	$1,254	$14,461
Willow Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1250 Hill St	Traverse City	49684	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 933-8540	429	23	18.3	14.0%	406 (94.6%)	5 (1.2%)	9 (2.1%)	3 (0.7%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78	287^th of 1492 public elementary schools	80.8%		79.8	273^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	81.7%	14			48.7	59.3	67.5			56.6	54.2	42.5			51.3		42.5		$13,949	$717	$13,232
Traverse Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	933 Rose St	Traverse City	49686	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-3500	245	18	13.2	73.1%	148 (60.4%)	22 (9.0%)	36 (14.7%)	4 (1.6%)	32 (13.1%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32.4	965^th of 1492 public elementary schools	35.3%		19.8	1162^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	21.9%	197			27.9	29.4	50.0			15.6	1374.9	18.8			40.0		1475.7		$19,376	$2,201	$17,175
Eastern Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1600 Eastern Ave	Traverse City	49686	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 933-5600	475	26	18.5	20.2%	428 (90.1%)	10 (2.1%)	11 (2.3%)	19 (4.0%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	65.5	483^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	67.6%		73.8	354^th of 1488 public elementary schools	76.2%	129			70.4	57.5	50.0			76.1	41.3	25.0			39.5		28.9		$14,502	$731	$13,770
Long Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	7600 N Long Lake Rd	Traverse City	49685	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-7800	364	22	16.3	32.4%	325 (89.3%)	6 (1.6%)	14 (3.8%)	7 (1.9%)	10 (2.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	60.9	542^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	63.7%		47.9	754^th of 1488 public elementary schools	49.3%	212			50.8	36.2	53.2			53.8	29.8	38.3			55.3		25.5		$15,170	$1,114	$14,056
Silver Lake Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5858 Culver Rd	Traverse City	49684	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-3580	286	18	15.9	37.8%	265 (92.7%)	4 (1.4%)	9 (3.1%)	2 (0.7%)	6 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39.8	867^th of 1492 public elementary schools	41.9%		50.3	711^th of 1488 public elementary schools	52.2%	156			37.1	29.4	48.5			34.3	19.6	39.4			39.4		21.2		$15,944	$1,288	$14,656
Cherry Knoll Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1800 3 Mile Rd N	Traverse City	49696	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-8940	333	22	15.0	29.7%	282 (84.7%)	14 (4.2%)	15 (4.5%)	5 (1.5%)	14 (4.2%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	56.3	607^th of 1492 public elementary schools	59.3%		56.3	624^th of 1488 public elementary schools	58.1%	17			47.4	42.0	60.8			45.6	28.0	37.3			41.2		25.5		$15,049	$1,110	$13,940
Blair Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1625 Sawyer Rd	Traverse City	49685	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(231) 933-5700	202	18	11.2	63.9%	168 (83.2%)	5 (2.5%)	16 (7.9%)	3 (1.5%)	9 (4.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	20.8	1165^th of 1492 public elementary schools	21.9%		25.1	1077^th of 1488 public elementary schools	27.6%	88			23.5	12.9	26.9			32.4	19.4	15.4			30.8		1472.0		$20,986	$1,971	$19,015
Westwoods Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1500 Fisher Rd	Traverse City	49685	Grand Traverse County	Traverse City Area Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(231) 933-7900	365	21	17.7	23.6%	350 (95.9%)	3 (0.8%)	6 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	80.1	260^th of 1492 public elementary schools	82.6%		74.8	339^th of 1488 public elementary schools	77.2%	79			47.5	69.1	59.6			67.2	54.5	55.8			47.1		38.5		$14,961	$718	$14,243

Frequently Asked Questions about TCAPS Montessori School

What district is TCAPS Montessori School in?

Traverse City Area Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of TCAPS Montessori School?

Students at TCAPS Montessori School are 91% White, 3% African American, 2% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% American Indian.

How many students attend TCAPS Montessori School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 331 students attended TCAPS Montessori School.

Is TCAPS Montessori School a good school?

TCAPS Montessori School ranks 241^st of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of TCAPS Montessori School attend?

Students who attend TCAPS Montessori School usually go on to attend:

Middle : East Middle School
High : Traverse City High 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.