Gompers Elementarymiddle School, Detroit MI

Original Research by School Decision on Gompers Elementarymiddle School

Gompers Elementary-Middle School sits on Burt Road in northwest Detroit, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is a neighborhood public school with a sizable enrollment for its grade band, and its student body is almost entirely Black. A very large share of students come from families qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding area. Data on English learners and special education populations was not available in the source material, so those breakdowns cannot be described here.

The state assessment picture for Gompers is one of low proficiency across nearly every tested subject and grade. In math, the proportion of students meeting proficiency standards is very small in every grade from third through seventh, with a modest uptick in eighth grade. English language arts follows a similar pattern, with the highest showing in eighth grade but otherwise low rates from third through seventh. Science and social studies results are also low in fifth grade, with a stronger eighth-grade performance in both subjects. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Wayne County. These results are a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking about what academic supports and interventions are in place and how the building is working to move students toward grade-level expectations. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, holding, or declining over time.

Because Gompers does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and a four-year graduation rate does not apply to this school. Chronic absenteeism data was also missing, as were discipline, course access, and staffing details. These gaps mean the picture here is limited to what the state assessments and enrollment data can show.

The school sits in a part of Detroit where housing values are among the most affordable in the region. The typical home value in the school's zip code is far below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are similarly modest. Wayne County's broader housing market shows a median listing price well above the school's immediate area, with a large inventory of active listings and homes spending a moderate amount of time on the market. For a family considering this neighborhood, the cost barrier to entry is low compared with most of metro Detroit. The broader city context matters here too. Detroit has seen two consecutive years of population growth as of recently reported estimates, the first time since the 1950s the city led Michigan in growth, attributed partly to immigration and new housing development. Revitalization has concentrated in Midtown, Corktown, and along the East Riverfront, while many outer neighborhoods continue to face the long tail of disinvestment. The city anchors a large regional economy with major employers in automotive, health care, and finance, though those jobs are spread across the metro rather than concentrated in the neighborhoods where many students live.

At the district level, Detroit Public Schools Community District has publicly reported a multi-year facilities improvement plan aimed at renovating and modernizing school buildings across the city. For a family at Gompers, that could mean building upgrades in coming years, along with possible disruptions during construction. Specifics about how and when that work reaches this building were not available in the source material.

What the data shows is a large, predominantly Black neighborhood school in an affordable part of Detroit, with state test results that are low across the board and a peer environment shaped by concentrated poverty. The district is investing in facilities, and the city around it is growing again after decades of decline, but those macro-level shifts have not yet translated into strong academic outcomes at this building. A parent weighing Gompers would want to visit, ask directly about academic intervention programs, and get a sense of the classroom culture and leadership before deciding.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 16% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 10% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 13% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 10% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 33%

School 3% · District 13% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 15% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 17% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 17% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 16% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 13% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 17%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 10% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 21% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

This schoolDetroit Public Schools Community District, 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.