Summary:
Zip code 48382, covering Commerce Township, Michigan, is home to two elementary schools serving grades K-5: Commerce Elementary School and Country Oaks Elementary School.
For parents comparing these two schools, Commerce Elementary School is the clear academic leader. It holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 87th percentile statewide, while Country Oaks Elementary School also earns 4 stars but sits in the 71st percentile. Commerce outperforms Country Oaks in nearly every subject and grade level, with particularly large gaps in 5th-grade math (51.6% vs. 35.5% proficiency) and science (65.3% vs. 45.2%). Interestingly, Country Oaks actually beats Commerce in 3rd-grade English Language Arts (61.2% vs. 57.8%), but Commerce takes a commanding lead by 4th and 5th grades. Country Oaks also shows a concerning decline in math proficiency as students advance, dropping from 62.7% in 3rd grade to just 35.5% by 5th grade. Both schools far exceed state averages across most subjects, and both have impressively low chronic absenteeism rates (around 10%) compared to their districts and the state.
The most striking finding is the spending paradox: Country Oaks Elementary School spends $3,513 more per student ($15,782 vs. $12,269) and has a more favorable student-teacher ratio (17.0 vs. 19.7) than Commerce Elementary School, yet achieves lower test scores across nearly all measures. This suggests that instructional quality, curriculum, and school culture at Commerce—part of Walled Lake Consolidated Schools—may be more impactful than class size or funding alone. Country Oaks, part of Huron Valley Schools, remains a solid choice with strong early-grade performance, but parents should be aware of its upper-grade math challenges. Both schools serve relatively affluent populations, which likely contributes to their above-average results.
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