Hamtramck Academy, Hamtramck MI - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hamtramck Academy

Hamtramck Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, located on Conant Street in the city of Hamtramck, a densely settled enclave fully surrounded by Detroit. The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with roughly even class sizes across each grade. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school among the most economically disadvantaged settings in the region. The student body is predominantly Asian American, with smaller Black, white, and multiracial populations, and a very small Hispanic share. This composition reflects the surrounding community, which has evolved from a Polish-American factory town into a city shaped by Yemeni, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani immigration, and where schoolchildren are reported to speak at least sixteen native languages. Data on English learner status and special education enrollment was not available, so those dimensions of the student population are gaps a parent may want to ask about directly.

On state assessments, Hamtramck Academy posts results that sit well above the typical Wayne County district. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Wayne County, a comparison set drawn from county membership. That standing is built on real strengths in the upper elementary and middle grades. Eighth grade is the school's standout cohort: English language arts proficiency is exceptionally high, and social studies proficiency is also strong, with science proficiency solidly above the midpoint. Seventh grade shows similar strength in both math and ELA. Third grade math and ELA results are also comparatively robust. These upper-grade and early-grade results suggest the school is doing effective work on both ends of its grade span.

The soft spot is fifth grade. Math proficiency drops sharply at that level, and science and social studies proficiency are also lower in fifth grade than in the tested grades above and below it. Whether this reflects a transitional year, a cohort effect, or something about instruction at that grade is not clear from the data. A parent looking at the school for a child approaching fifth grade may want to look into this further with the school.

The school does not have a graduation rate or chronic absenteeism figure, which is expected because it does not serve high school grades. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from the provided data whether these results are improving, stable, or declining over time. Program offerings, staffing levels, discipline data, and attendance data were not available in the payload, so those aspects of the school environment cannot be characterized here. The school is a regular public charter, not a magnet, and its Title I status was not reported.

The surrounding community is compact, walkable, and working-class. Hamtramck is known for its dense grid of two- and three-story mixed-use buildings along Joseph Campau Avenue, the main commercial spine, lined with Polish bakeries, Middle Eastern and South Asian shops, and small restaurants. Publicly reported sources describe the city as uniquely walkable for its tight footprint, which matters for immigrant families. Major employers include GM's Factory ZERO electric vehicle plant, which straddles the Detroit border, and the local economy is otherwise largely small businesses. The city faced severe financial distress in the early 2010s and avoided receivership through a negotiated agreement with Detroit. Population has rebounded in recent decades through immigration, though recent estimates show a slight decline.

For families considering the housing market, home values in the school's zip code are well below both the Michigan and national benchmarks, making ownership relatively accessible by regional standards. Home values have ticked down slightly over the past year, while rents have risen modestly. Mortgage rates remain elevated by recent historical standards. The affordability picture favors renters and first-time buyers compared with most of metro Detroit, though rising rents are a factor for tenant families.

Hamtramck Academy fits a family looking for a charter option in a dense, immigrant-rich, walkable urban setting where the school's tested academic results in most grades run well ahead of the county typical. The clearest question mark is the fifth-grade dip across multiple subjects, and the missing data on English learners, special education, staffing, and programs means a parent would need to go to the school directly for a complete picture of what it offers day to day.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 49%

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

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

This schoolHamtramck 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.