The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Detroit Service Learning Academy
Detroit Service Learning Academy is a charter district operating three campuses across the Detroit area: the Detroit Service Learning Academy Campus, the Redford Service Learning Academy Campus, and Oak Park Service Learning Academy (OPSLA). It serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Because the district does not extend into high school, there is no graduation rate to report, and there are no high school program offerings, AP courses, or dual-credit pathways in the data provided.
The enrollment is large for a charter elementary-and-middle operation, with a student body that is nearly entirely Black. The data does not include free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, English learner figures, or special education rates, so those pieces of the student profile are not available here. No staffing, course access, discipline, or attendance details were provided beyond the chronic absenteeism figure discussed below.
On state assessments, the most recent results show a district struggling to move students to proficiency. In math, proficiency rates across grades three through eight are very low, with several grades reporting near-zero proficient students and the remaining grades in the single digits. The pattern is similar in science and social studies, where only a small fraction of tested students reached proficiency. English language arts shows a somewhat different picture. Grades three through seven hover in the vicinity of one in ten students proficient, while eighth grade ELA, assessed through the PSAT, shows a stronger result with roughly a third of students reaching proficiency. That eighth-grade ELA figure stands out as the single brightest spot in the academic data. A parent may want to ask the school what is driving that result and whether earlier grades are on a trajectory toward it.
Against its comparison set among Wayne County's districts, Detroit Service Learning Academy's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. Chronic absenteeism is also in the bottom quartile, meaning a substantial share of students are chronically absent, well above the county median. Per-pupil current spending falls in the middle range, lower half, for the county. These are realities a family should weigh directly: academic outcomes as measured by state tests are low, and student attendance is a recognized challenge.
The district brief searched for recent parent-relevant changes and found none to report. No locale brief, housing data, or community economic context was available for this entity, so there is no neighborhood or housing market picture to include. Program offerings were not provided either, so the narrative cannot speak to extracurriculars, arts, athletics, or specialized academic tracks.
What the data does convey is a district serving a large, predominantly Black student body across three campuses, with state test results that are low across most subjects and grades, one encouraging eighth-grade ELA result, and a chronic absenteeism rate that is high even by Wayne County standards. Families considering this district would benefit from asking school leadership directly about their academic improvement plans, attendance interventions, and what the classroom experience looks like day to day.
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