1
What's the one class at Alto Elementary School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
417
Elementary
DISTRICT 397 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWELL AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 262205005925
Alto Elementary School
6150 BANCROFT AVE SE, ALTO, MI 49302 · (616) 987-2600 · Kent County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL417 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 86% of Michigan public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
16%
65 students
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 55%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 75 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 68 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 71 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 64 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (75) is 19% larger than its 5th grade class (63).
Student demographics
17%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 56% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Alto Elementary School→Lowell Middle School
Based on grade levels within Lowell Area Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
64.8%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
70.5%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
65.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.4%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 59% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Michigan's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Alto Elementary School
Alto Elementary School's state test result (65.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alto Elementary School this school | 417 | 15.6% | 65.8% |
| Creekside Elementary School HARTLAND | 408 | 15.4% | 71.3% |
| Murray Lake Elementary LOWELL | 433 | 13.9% | 69.8% |
| Northwest Elementary School HOWELL | 418 | 18.4% | 38.9% |
| Clarkston Elementary School CLARKSTON | 416 | 14.4% | 58.9% |
| Willow Hill Elementary School TRAVERSE CITY | 429 | 14.0% | 56.5% |
Matched among Michigan elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Alto Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 65.8% | #114 of 1,085 | #28 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.5% | #89 of 1,072 | #23 of 79 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.8% | #164 of 1,139 | #31 of 82 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 417 | #579 of 1,630 | #42 of 115 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.6:1 | #878 of 1,424 | #60 of 105 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.4% | #1,165 of 1,424 | #103 of 105 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 15.6% | #1,447 of 1,563 | #100 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -17.4% | #323 of 979 | #29 of 80 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
417
-20 (-5%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 507
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 19.9:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 417 | 25.1 | 16.6:1 | 16% (65) |
| 2023-24 | 404 | 23.1 | 17.5:1 | 23% (94) |
| 2022-23 | 407 | 24.3 | 16.8:1 | 25% (100) |
| 2020-21 | 437 | 22 | 19.9:1 | 23% (101) |
| 2017-18 | 505 | 24.5 | 20.6:1 | 31% (155) |
| 2015-16 | 500 | 23 | 21.7:1 | 27% (134) |
| 2010-11 | 455 | 20 | 22.8:1 | 24% (111) |
| 2000-01 | 398 | 21 | 18.9:1 | 18% (70) |
| 1990-91 | 507 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Alto Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (505 to 417); teachers up 2% (24.5 to 25.1).
About Alto Elementary School
This page covers Alto Elementary School, a mid-sized elementary school in ALTO, Michigan. It is open to students in pre-K through 5 and enrolls 417 students.
Enrollment across the 7 schools in Lowell Area Schools totals 3,455 students.
The share of students at Alto Elementary School who are White is 91%. Smaller groups are 5% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. County-wide, 73% of Kent County residents are White. A diversity index of 17% means there is a 17% chance two randomly chosen students at Alto Elementary School are from different groups.
Alto Elementary School lists 25.1 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 16.6 students per teacher. The school's 16.6:1 compares with an average of 15.8:1 for elementary schools in Michigan. Free or reduced-price lunch covers 16% of the student body. The rate at public schools in Kent County averages 47%, higher than here.
Among Michigan public elementary schools, Alto Elementary School outscored 86%, which works out to an A on the allk12 Grade.
Alto Elementary School's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (65.8%) and its predicted rate (59.4%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Michigan schools.
In Kent County, where the school is located, the median household earns about $82,631 a year, roughly 41% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Alto Elementary School, Kent County has 239 public schools.
About 4.1 miles separate Alto Elementary School from the closest public school, Kettle Lake Elementary School. Within ten miles are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Alto Elementary School ranks 4th of 6 on average proficiency.
Alto Elementary School is coded as Rural: Fringe in federal locale data.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Alto Elementary School had a net loss of 20 students, or 5%. The ratio was 19.9:1 in 2020-21 and 16.6:1 in 2024-25.
People who know Alto Elementary School can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Kent County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
663,150
Census ACS
Median income
$82,631
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
239
97,253 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lowell Area Schools
- Lowell Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,058 students
- Lowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 790 students
- Cherry Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 485 students
- Murray Lake ElementaryElementary · 433 students
- Bushnell Elementary SchoolElementary · 253 students
- Unity Alternative SchoolHigh · 19 students
Other Alto Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Alto Elementary. Alto Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Alto Elementary SchoolALTO, TX · 207 students
Nearby schools
- Kettle Lake Elementary School4.1 mi · 349
- Bushnell Elementary School6.0 mi · 253
- Unity Alternative School6.1 mi · 19
- Lowell Middle School6.1 mi · 790
- Cherry Creek Elementary School6.2 mi · 485
- Pine Ridge Elementary School6.6 mi · 472
Frequently asked questions
About Alto Elementary SchoolHow large is Alto Elementary School?
Alto Elementary School enrolls approximately 417 students in grades PK-05.
Is Alto Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Alto Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Alto Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Alto Elementary School is approximately 16.6:1 (25 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Alto Elementary School?
At Alto Elementary School, the student body is approximately 91% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Two or more.
Is Alto Elementary School public or private?
Alto Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Lowell Area Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.