Merritt Academy, New Haven MI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Merritt Academy

Merritt Academy is a charter school serving students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade in New Haven, a small residential village in eastern Macomb County. The school sits on Havenridge Road, just off the village's Main Street corridor. It is a single-campus charter operating as its own district, which means the same governance oversees everything from early childhood through senior year. The enrollment is modest for a school spanning all grade levels, with roughly forty to fifty students per grade in the elementary and middle years and somewhat smaller high school classes.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and Hispanic students. Just over half the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report data on English learners or students with individualized education programs, so families whose children receive special education services or English-language support will want to ask the school directly about what is available.

On Michigan's M-STEP and PSAT assessments, Merritt Academy's results place it in the top quartile among districts in Macomb County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. That positioning reflects real strengths in certain areas. Third-grade math and eighth-grade English language arts stand out as the school's strongest results, with a clear majority of tested students reaching proficiency in both. Eighth-grade science and social studies also show well, with more than half of students proficient in each. The school's middle grades tell a more mixed story. Fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh-grade math proficiency rates sit lower, as do the intermediate English language arts results. Fifth-grade science and social studies are the weakest reported scores. The pattern suggests that students tend to enter strong in the early grades, dip during the intermediate years, and recover by eighth grade. A parent considering the middle grades may want to look into how the school supports students during that transition and what drives the rebound by eighth grade.

Participation rates for the state assessments were not reported, and no multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. The school does not report a four-year graduation rate in the comparison data set, nor does it provide chronic absenteeism figures. Both gaps leave questions a family would want answered before enrolling a high school student. No data on advanced course offerings, career pathways, dual enrollment, or extracurricular programs was provided, so the academic pathway beyond what is tested remains undescribed here.

The surrounding community shapes what kind of place this is for a family. New Haven began as a railroad depot settlement on the Grand Trunk Western Railroad and retains a small-town, semi-rural feel despite some areas being classified as urban. The village has grown rapidly over the past two decades, transitioning from its industrial past, when an iron works foundry off Main Street supplied Chrysler with engine parts, toward a bedroom-community character. Publicly reported sources describe the population as young and family-oriented, with a substantial share of households including children under eighteen. Housing is mostly single-family homes, and the median home value sits below the national benchmark though modestly above the state figure. Home values have been rising, reflecting the residential growth that has defined the village's recent trajectory.

There is no walkable commercial district to speak of. Main Street carries traffic through the village center, where the village offices and public library are located, but the built environment is low-density and automobile-dependent. Highway M-19 runs along the village's east side, connecting south to Interstate 94, which puts employment centers in broader Macomb County within commuting range. No public transit system serves the village. The historic railroad depot on Victoria Street now functions as a village museum, and the New Haven Fire Department is one of the oldest in the county. The Salt River passes along the eastern edge of town.

We searched for recent district-level changes or strategic initiatives and found little reported, so there is nothing to relay about new programs, leadership shifts, or facility plans. Families interested in where the school is heading will need to contact the school directly.

For a parent weighing Merritt Academy, the appeal is a small, continuous pre-kindergarten-through-twelfth-grade charter environment in a growing residential village, with state test results that outpace most Macomb County districts overall and particular strength in the early elementary and eighth-grade years. The trade-offs are the unreported graduation rate, the absence of program and staffing details, the dip in intermediate-grade proficiency, and the car-dependent setting. A family that values a small campus where children can stay in one school from kindergarten through graduation, and that is comfortable asking direct questions about high school outcomes and special populations support, will get the most out of exploring this option further.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

80-89%Cohort of 32 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,027 schools plotted. 80 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 851%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 9 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 873%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

This schoolMerritt Academy, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income52%Higher-income67%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income52%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income41%Higher-income44%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income63%35 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income46%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income63%Higher-income81%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income57%Higher-income76%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income44%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income44%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income18%Higher-income68%51 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income41%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income62%24 pp gap