Mackenzie Elementarymiddle School, Detroit MI

Original Research by School Decision on Mackenzie Elementarymiddle School

Mackenzie ElementaryMiddle School sits on West Chicago Avenue in Detroit, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it draws from the surrounding neighborhoods in the city's west side. The enrollment is sizable for a single building covering this grade span, and the student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a small number of Hispanic students and a handful identifying as two or more races. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic conditions in the immediate area. The school does not report IEP or English-learner counts, so those population details are missing.

Academically, state assessment results from the most recent year tell a difficult story. Across math, English language arts, science, and social studies, proficiency rates are very low at every tested grade level. In math, only a small fraction of students reached proficiency in third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, with fifth-grade math proficiency essentially at the floor. English language arts results were similarly modest in the elementary and early middle grades, though eighth-grade ELA showed a relative bright spot with a noticeably higher proficiency rate on the PSAT-based assessment. Science and social studies results, tested only in fifth and eighth grades, were also low. When placed against other districts in Wayne County, Mackenzie's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this school may want to ask the administration what academic intervention plans are in place and how the school is working to move these results.

The school does not have a graduation rate, which is expected because it does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. Discipline data, course access information, staffing figures, and attendance records were all missing from what was provided, so there is little to report on the school environment beyond the academic results. Program offerings were not listed, which means we cannot speak to extracurriculars, arts, or specialized academic tracks.

The surrounding neighborhood offers a housing market that is among the most affordable in the region. Home values in the school's zip code are a fraction of the state and national benchmarks, and rents are modest. The broader Wayne County housing market has a median listing price well below national levels, with active listings that have grown over the past year and a demand score that has softened. Homes in this area sit on the market for roughly six weeks on average. For families looking to buy, the price-to-income ratio is favorable compared to national figures, though the declining year-over-year home values suggest a market still working through disinvestment pressures.

Detroit itself is a city in transition. After decades of population loss following industrial restructuring and suburbanization, the city has recently recorded two consecutive years of population growth, driven by immigration and new housing construction. Publicly reported development projects include the Hudson's site mixed-use skyscraper downtown, the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit to Windsor, and continued riverfront expansion. The city's economy remains anchored by the Big Three automakers and major health systems, with revitalization concentrated in Midtown, Corktown, and the East Riverfront. Many outer neighborhoods, including the areas around Mackenzie, have seen less of this investment.

At the district level, Detroit Public Schools Community District announced a multi-year facilities improvement plan in 2024 aimed at renovating and modernizing school buildings across the city, funded through capital projects funding and grants. For Mackenzie families, this could mean building improvements in coming years, though it may also bring disruptions during construction. We looked for more specific district strategic priorities or academic initiatives tied to schools like Mackenzie but found little detail, so we left that out rather than guess.

What this school offers is a neighborhood-based, pre-K-through-eighth-grade pathway within the city's public system, serving a community where nearly every student comes from an economically disadvantaged household. The academic results are low across subjects and grades, and the available data does not give much insight into what supports or programs exist to address that. Families considering Mackenzie would benefit from visiting the school directly, asking about academic interventions, tutoring, after-school programming, and how the district's facilities plan might affect the building.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 35%

School 5% · District 16% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 46%

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

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 10%

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

Grade 75%

School 5% · District 13% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 10 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 36%

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

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

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 15% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 17% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 610%

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

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

Grade 78%

School 8% · District 16% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 31% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

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

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 54%

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

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 21% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below 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.