Summary:
Zip code 48770 is home to just one elementary school, Whittemore-Prescott Area Elementary, which serves grades Kindergarten through 6th grade and enrolls 347 students in the Whittemore-Prescott Area Schools district.
This school faces significant academic challenges. It is ranked 1203rd out of 1492 Michigan elementary schools, placing it in the 19th percentile with a 1-star rating. Proficiency rates on state M-Step tests are consistently 20 to 30 percentage points below state averages across all subjects. For example, 4th-grade English Language Arts proficiency is just 9.3% compared to the state average of 41.3%, while 5th-grade ELA proficiency is 29.4% versus the state's 43.8%. Math proficiency ranges from 9.3% in 4th grade to 23.7% in 3rd grade, far below state averages. Science (27.5%) and social studies (15.7%) proficiency in 5th grade also lag behind state averages of 40% and 27.5%, respectively. There is notable inconsistency between grade levels, with 5th-grade ELA proficiency more than triple that of 4th grade, suggesting varying cohort strengths or teaching effectiveness.
A critical concern is chronic absenteeism, which stands at 32.1%—meaning nearly one in three students misses significant school time. This rate is higher than the state average of 27.9% and likely contributes to the low academic outcomes. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 83% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. Per-student spending is $16,157, and the student-teacher ratio is 15.6 to 1. Despite this notable spending level, academic results remain very low, indicating that financial resources alone are not overcoming the challenges tied to poverty and attendance. On a positive note, the school's ranking has improved slightly, moving from the 22nd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 19th percentile in 2025-2026, showing incremental progress. For parents, this school requires a close look at attendance support and targeted academic interventions to help students succeed.
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