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Silver Lake Elementary School

Q: Is Silver Lake Elementary School a good school?

Silver Lake Elementary School ranks 867 th of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

867^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 42% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Silver Lake Elementary School in Traverse City, MI, is a mid-sized public school serving 286 students in grades PK-5 as part of the Traverse City Area Public Schools district.

Silver Lake is a bit of a puzzle within its own district. While the Traverse City Area Public Schools district ranks in the top 25% statewide, Silver Lake's own performance lags significantly behind its immediate neighbors. For example, in 4th-grade math, only about 20% of Silver Lake students were proficient, compared to roughly 54% at the nearby Willow Hill Elementary School. The school's overall state ranking places it in the 42nd percentile, a stark contrast to schools like Central Grade School and Westwoods Elementary School, which both rank in the top 20% statewide. This gap suggests the challenges at Silver Lake are specific to the school itself, not the district as a whole.

There are a few bright spots and areas of concern to note. On the positive side, the school has access to strong funding, spending more per student ($15,944) than higher-performing peers like Eastern Elementary School ($14,502). However, chronic absenteeism remains a persistent issue, with nearly 1 in 5 students missing significant school time—a rate double that of Willow Hill Elementary School. Parents may also want to be aware of a noticeable "4th-grade slump," where test scores drop sharply between 3rd and 4th grade. Finally, year-to-year results can swing dramatically, which may reflect the small class sizes where individual cohorts can heavily influence overall scores. While the school has shown it can achieve strong results in certain years, the key takeaway is that Silver Lake has significant untapped potential within a high-achieving district.

286

Students ?

15.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,944

Per pupil spending ?

37.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5858 Culver Rd
Traverse City, MI 49684

(231) 933-3580

District: Traverse City Area Public Schools

Students who attend Silver Lake Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	West Middle School
High:	Traverse City High School
	West Senior High

Racial breakdown:

White:

92.7%

Hispanic:

3.1%

American Indian:

2.1%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Silver Lake Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 30th percentile in 2022 → 42nd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 42nd (2026) from a 30th-percentile low (2022)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (33% vs 38% meeting standards)

!Near the bottom of Traverse City Area Public Schools's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school33%

District avg47%

Michigan avg38%

867^th of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 42%▼ down 16 pts since 2016

From top 42% (2016) to bottom 42% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	39.8	867 of 1492	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	50.3	711 of 1488	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.7	854 of 1486	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.7	920 of 1470	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.5	939 of 1344	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.0	776 of 1153	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.1	830 of 1408	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.8	760 of 1448	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	38.4	897 of 1466	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2016	57.3	656 of 1548	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2015	57.3	672 of 1580	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2014	68.4	458 of 1533	70.1%	★★★★☆
2013	55.5	737 of 1563	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	48.2	878 of 1566	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	66.5	572 of 1552	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	64.3	714 of 1552	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2009	58.6	826 of 1589	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2008	58.3	812 of 1577	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2007	65.5	574 of 1565	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2006	60.0	729 of 1545	52.8%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	30.3	897 of 1343	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	51.4	596 of 1338	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	38.6	796 of 1342	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.5	787 of 1321	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.2	869 of 1106	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.8	675 of 1171	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	45.5	838 of 1443	41.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	37.7	822 of 1352	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	64.5	388 of 1346	71.2%	★★★★☆
2024	42.5	766 of 1381	44.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	49.2	641 of 1350	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	37.0	700 of 1099	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.7	502 of 749	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.8	733 of 1134	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.4	761 of 1397	45.5%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	44.8	724 of 1372	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	46.4	709 of 1366	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.9	773 of 1347	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.8	849 of 1334	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	33.2	758 of 1139	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.7	682 of 915	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.8	790 of 1196	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	54.4	678 of 1446	53.1%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	30.0	864 of 1199	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.6	774 of 1206	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.1	888 of 1204	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.0	961 of 1198	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.2	956 of 1102	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.1	783 of 1005	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.5	891 of 1128	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	40.3	783 of 1253	37.5%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Male (2026)47th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)39th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2026)33rd percentile-9 vs school

White (2026)28th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Science39%~ state avg

English Language Arts37%-4 vs state

Math29%-9 vs state

Social Studies21%-6 vs state

★

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Schools Near Silver Lake Elementary 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Silver Lake Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Silver Lake Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Silver Lake Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : West Middle School
High : Traverse City High School
High : West Senior High

What district is Silver Lake Elementary School in?

Traverse City Area Public Schools

How many students attend Silver Lake Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 286 students attended Silver Lake Elementary School.

Is Silver Lake Elementary School a good school?

Silver Lake Elementary School ranks 867^th of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Silver Lake Elementary School?

Students at Silver Lake Elementary School are 93% White, 3% Hispanic, 2% American Indian, 1% African American.

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Schools in Traverse City, MI

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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.