The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in Science. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brewer Academy
Brewer Academy is a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade regular public school in the Detroit Public Schools Community District, located on Brock Street in Detroit's 48205 zip code on the city's east side. It serves a predominantly Black student body and has a very high concentration of students from economically disadvantaged households, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The school is not a charter or magnet school. Its enrollment is moderate for a pre-K-through-eighth building, with each grade band roughly similar in size.
State assessment results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates that are low across every tested subject and grade. In math, most grade levels had proficiency in the lowest reporting range, with no students meeting the proficiency bar in several grades. A small share of sixth and seventh graders reached proficiency in math. English language arts results were similar, with the exception of eighth grade, where about a fifth of tested students met the standard on the PSAT. Science and social studies results were also low, with a small portion of eighth graders reaching proficiency in both subjects. When placed in the comparison set of districts in Wayne County, the school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. These results are a clear soft spot, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism was not available. Information on individualized education programs and English learner counts was also missing from the provided data. Program offerings, staffing levels, discipline data, and course access details were not included, so there is little to report on extracurriculars, advanced coursework, or teacher ratios. The school's Title I status was not specified in the data, though the overwhelming majority of students come from low-income backgrounds.
The surrounding neighborhood is in a part of Detroit that has experienced decades of disinvestment, but the city as a whole is in a period of modest population growth. Publicly reported Census data shows Detroit's population grew for two consecutive years as of 2025, driven partly by immigration and new housing development, reversing a long decline. That growth has been concentrated in areas like Midtown, Corktown, and the East Riverfront rather than uniformly across all neighborhoods. The 48205 zip code remains an area of very low home values. The typical home value is well below both the state and national benchmarks, and values have been declining year over year. Rents are also low relative to broader metro norms. For families considering buying, housing here is inexpensive compared with most of Wayne County, though the trade-off is a market that has not seen the reinvestment pressuring prices up elsewhere in the city.
Detroit Public Schools Community District has announced a multi-year facilities improvement plan to renovate and modernize school buildings across the district, funded through capital projects funding and grants. This could mean improvements to the physical environment at Brewer in coming years, though it may also mean some disruption during construction. Parents may want to ask the school what the timeline looks like for their building.
Brewer Academy fits a family looking for a neighborhood-based public school with a long grade span under one roof, serving a close-knit, predominantly Black community in a part of the city where housing is among the most affordable in the region. The academic results are a central consideration, and the gaps in available data on programs, staffing, and student services mean a family would need to go directly to the school to get a fuller picture of what the day-to-day experience is like and what supports exist for students working below grade level.
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