Edmonson Elementary School vs Simonds Elementary School

Simonds Elementary School holds a clear edge in overall rating — 9.5/10 versus Edmonson Elementary School's 8.9/10, a 0.6-point gap that translates into a dramatic difference in state standing. Simonds ranks #13 of 3,190 Michigan elementary schools, placing it in the top 0.4% statewide. Edmonson is no slouch at #114 of 3,190 — top 4% — but for parents treating state rank as a proxy for long-term academic outcomes, Simonds sits in a different tier entirely, and that gap is the central fact of this comparison.

The academic scores are close: Simonds Elementary School earns an 8.8/10 versus Edmonson Elementary School's 8.6/10, a difference narrow enough that curriculum quality alone shouldn't drive the decision. Where the schools diverge more meaningfully is growth — Simonds scores 9.8/10 on student growth versus Edmonson's 9.1/10, a 0.7-point gap indicating that Simonds students are advancing at a measurably faster rate relative to their peers, regardless of where they started. For families with students who entered behind grade level, that growth differential is worth weighing heavily.

The demographic profiles are similar but the classroom experience differs substantially. Both schools serve PK–05 and have comparable free/reduced lunch rates — 57% at Edmonson Elementary School versus 62% at Simonds Elementary School — so neither school serves a dramatically more advantaged population. Enrollment at Edmonson runs larger at 302 students versus 248 at Simonds. The student-teacher ratio tells the starkest structural story: Simonds Elementary School's 11.8:1 ratio versus Edmonson Elementary School's 16.8:1 means Simonds teachers carry roughly five fewer students per classroom, a difference that research consistently links to more individualized instruction and faster academic progress.

Both schools are located just 0.8 miles apart in Madison Heights, serving identical grade bands of PK through 5th grade, which makes the comparison unusually clean — the schools draw from the same city, cover the same years of elementary education, and operate under the same district umbrella. The differences in ranking, growth score, and student-teacher ratio are structural, not incidental, and they compound across five years of elementary school attendance.