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What do students at Murray Lake Elementary actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
433
Elementary
DISTRICT 397 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LOWELL AREA SCHOOLS·NCES 262205001690
Murray Lake Elementary
3275 ALDEN NASH AVE NE, LOWELL, MI 49331 · (616) 987-2750 · Kent County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL433 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% 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.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
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
18.8:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
14%
60 students
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 55%
Community
5
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 | 88 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 60 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 61 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 77 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (88) is 14% larger than its 5th grade class (77).
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
Murray Lake Elementary→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
76.1%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
66.0%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 66 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
69.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.1%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 70% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 Murray Lake Elementary
Murray Lake Elementary's state test result (69.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murray Lake Elementary this school | 433 | 13.9% | 69.8% |
| Willow Hill Elementary School TRAVERSE CITY | 429 | 14.0% | 56.5% |
| Alward Elementary School HUDSONVILLE | 435 | 12.6% | 66.3% |
| Alto Elementary School ALTO | 417 | 15.6% | 65.8% |
| Creekside Elementary School HARTLAND | 408 | 15.4% | 71.3% |
| Crestwood Elementary School ROCKFORD | 469 | 12.4% | 75.7% |
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 Murray Lake Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Kent County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 69.8% | #73 of 1,085 | #21 of 79 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #137 of 1,072 | #29 of 79 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #29 of 1,139 | #10 of 82 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 433 | #513 of 1,630 | #37 of 115 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.8:1 | #1,260 of 1,424 | #90 of 105 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 17.3% | #1,166 of 1,424 | #104 of 105 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 13.9% | #1,472 of 1,563 | #104 of 114 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.2% | #616 of 979 | #57 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
433
+3 (+1%) vs 2020
-3% since 2010-11, when it was 446
Student : Teacher
18.8:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 433 | 23 | 18.8:1 | 14% (60) |
| 2023-24 | 427 | 23 | 18.6:1 | 20% (87) |
| 2022-23 | 437 | 23.9 | 18.3:1 | 18% (77) |
| 2020-21 | 430 | 25 | 17.2:1 | 14% (59) |
| 2017-18 | 477 | 22.4 | 21.3:1 | 23% (112) |
| 2015-16 | 456 | 22 | 20.7:1 | 17% (78) |
| 2010-11 | 446 | 21 | 21.2:1 | 14% (63) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Murray Lake Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (477 to 433); teachers up 3% (22.4 to 23).
About Murray Lake Elementary
Murray Lake Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school in Lowell Area Schools, located in LOWELL, Michigan. Total enrollment is 433 students, and the grades served are pre-K through 5.
Besides Murray Lake Elementary, Lowell Area Schools runs 6 other schools. The district enrolls 3,455 students.
Murray Lake Elementary is 91% White by enrollment. The remaining shares are 4% multiracial and 3% Hispanic. Census estimates put the White share of Kent County's population at about 73%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Murray Lake Elementary scores 17%.
A staff of 23 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 18.8:1. The gap from the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan is 3.0 students per teacher. By family income, 14% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Kent County, the average eligibility rate is 47%.
On the allk12 Grade, Murray Lake Elementary lands at A, ahead of 92% of Michigan public elementary schools.
Murray Lake Elementary's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (69.8%) and its predicted rate (60.1%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Michigan schools.
For the population of Kent County, median household income comes to about $82,631, 41% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Kent County's 239 public schools enroll about 97,253 students and include Murray Lake Elementary.
Goodwillie Environmental School is the nearest public school to Murray Lake Elementary, about 4.8 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number 2. Nearby schools with test data average 63.8% proficiency; Murray Lake Elementary posts 69.8%.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Distant.
In 2020-21, Murray Lake Elementary enrolled 430; in 2024-25, 433. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 17.2:1 to 18.8:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at Murray Lake Elementary. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- Alto Elementary SchoolElementary · 417 students
- Bushnell Elementary SchoolElementary · 253 students
- Unity Alternative SchoolHigh · 19 students
Other schools in LOWELL
- Lowell Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,058 students
- Lowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 790 students
- Cherry Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 485 students
- Bushnell Elementary SchoolElementary · 253 students
- Unity Alternative SchoolHigh · 19 students
Nearby schools
- Goodwillie Environmental School4.8 mi · 103
- Lowell Senior High School4.9 mi · 1,058
- Cannonsburg Elementary School5.0 mi · 262
- Cherry Creek Elementary School5.9 mi · 485
- Lowell Middle School6.1 mi · 790
- Bushnell Elementary School6.3 mi · 253
Frequently asked questions
About Murray Lake ElementaryHow many students attend Murray Lake Elementary?
Murray Lake Elementary enrolls approximately 433 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Murray Lake Elementary serve?
Murray Lake Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Murray Lake Elementary have?
Murray Lake Elementary employs 23 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Murray Lake Elementary?
At Murray Lake Elementary, the student body is approximately 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Murray Lake Elementary public or private?
Murray Lake Elementary 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.