Earhart Elementarymiddle School, Detroit MI

Original Research by School Decision on Earhart Elementarymiddle School

Earhart Elementary-Middle School sits on Scotten Street in southwest Detroit, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as part of Detroit Public Schools Community District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it draws from a predominantly Hispanic and Black student body. A very large share of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic conditions of the surrounding neighborhoods. The school's enrollment is sizable for its grade band, with the middle grades accounting for a substantial portion of the student count.

On state assessments from the most recent school year, Earhart's proficiency results are low across every tested subject and grade. In math, only a small fraction of students reached proficiency in any grade, and the results thin out further in the upper elementary and middle grades. English language arts tells a similar story through most grades, though eighth-grade ELA on the PSAT stands as a relative bright spot, with a meaningfully higher share of students meeting proficiency than in the earlier grades. Science and social studies results are also low. When measured against other schools and districts in Wayne County, Earhart's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. These results are a fact of the current data, and a parent considering this school may want to ask administrators directly about what academic interventions and supports are in place, particularly in math.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and that gap is simply a function of the grade band served. We also looked for data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing, and special populations such as English learners and students with individualized education programs, but none was available in the provided data. These absences limit the picture of school climate and student support, and a parent would benefit from asking the school for that information directly. No program offerings, such as dual-language, arts, or advanced coursework, were listed in the data either.

The surrounding community context shapes what families encounter here. The school's zip code has some of the most affordable housing in the region, with typical home values far below both the state and national benchmarks. Rents are similarly modest. The broader Wayne County housing market shows a large inventory of active listings and a modest cooldown in demand, which means buyers in the area have options and negotiating room. For families renting or buying near Earhart, housing costs are unlikely to be a barrier, though the low price point also reflects decades of disinvestment that the city has been working to reverse.

Detroit itself is a major urban center with a layered history. The city grew around the automotive industry, and the Big Three automakers remain anchor employers across the metro area, alongside major health systems and financial companies. Southwest Detroit, where Earhart is located, has a strong Hispanic cultural presence and an active street life in pockets, though walkability varies considerably by block. The city has seen two consecutive years of population growth as of publicly reported 2025 estimates, the first sustained increase since the mid-twentieth century, driven in part by immigration and new housing development concentrated in areas like Midtown, Corktown, and the East Riverfront rather than in the southwest neighborhoods closest to the school. Major civic assets, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the public library's main branch, and the riverfront, are clustered in and around downtown and Midtown, a short drive from the school's immediate area.

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, funded through capital projects and grants. For a school like Earhart, this could mean building upgrades in coming years, though it may also bring temporary disruptions during construction. Parents may want to ask how Earhart fits into the district's facilities schedule.

What Earhart offers is a neighborhood school serving a working-class, predominantly Latino and Black community in a city where housing is affordable and civic renewal is uneven. The academic data as it stands is weak, and the absence of climate and support data leaves real gaps in the picture. Families considering this school should go beyond the available data and talk directly with school leaders about instruction, intervention, and what the day-to-day experience looks like for students.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 16%

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

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 13% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 9% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 62%

School 2% · District 10% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 76%

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

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 85%

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

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

English language arts

Grade 37%

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

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

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 15% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 17% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 36 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 76%

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

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

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 31% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 59%

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

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

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 17% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 14 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 812%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 13 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income27%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income12%Higher-income36%24 pp gap