Derby Middle School, Birmingham MI

Original Research by School Decision on Derby Middle School

Derby Middle School sits in Birmingham, an affluent, compact suburb of Detroit along the Woodward Corridor. The city brands itself as "A Walkable Community," and its downtown at Maple Road and Old Woodward Avenue concentrates retail, dining, and civic life in a pedestrian-friendly core. Surrounding that core are largely owner-occupied single-family neighborhoods. Birmingham is essentially built out, so any growth comes from infill and redevelopment rather than expansion. The city has seen steady, modest population growth and rising home values. For families, the housing market here is expensive: typical home values in the school's zip code sit well above both the Oakland County and state benchmarks, and rents are likewise elevated. The price-to-income ratio is high, reflecting the area's affluence and demand.

Derby is one of two middle schools serving Birmingham Public Schools, covering grades six through eight. Its enrollment is balanced across the three grades, with a fairly even distribution of students at each level. The student body is predominantly white, with small representation from Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, consistent with Birmingham's economic profile. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available in the provided records, so those populations cannot be characterized here.

Academically, Derby posts strong results across the board. On Michigan's M-STEP and PSAT assessments, proficiency rates in math hold steady across all three grades, with roughly seven in ten students meeting or exceeding standards in each. English language arts results climb sharply from sixth to eighth grade, with eighth-grade ELA proficiency standing particularly high on the PSAT. Science and social studies proficiency among eighth graders are also strong, with a large majority of students clearing the proficiency bar in both subjects. When measured against other districts in Oakland County, Derby's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, ahead of every district-level benchmark in the comparison set. That comparison pool includes about fifty districts in the county, and Derby's results clear the county's top reported district figure.

No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, declining, or holding steady over time. Participation rate data was also missing from the state assessment records. The state flagged a cut-score change for social studies, which means year-over-year comparisons in that subject should be treated with care, though the current-year proficiency figure stands on its own.

Because Derby serves only grades six through eight, it has no graduation rate. Chronic absenteeism data was not reported. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, attendance patterns, and Title I status was not available in the provided data. We looked for recent district-level changes from Birmingham Public Schools, such as curriculum shifts, bond measures, or pedagogy updates, and found nothing meeting that threshold, so that space is left blank rather than guessed.

Birmingham itself offers families a compact, established setting. The Baldwin Public Library serves as a civic anchor, and the city maintains parks, baseball fields, urban bike paths, and a farmers market. Most residents commute by car, and the city sits midway between Detroit and Pontiac with access to major freeways. The school's campus sits within or adjacent to residential neighborhoods, as Birmingham's small footprint means facilities are not on distant, isolated sites. For a family weighing Derby, the picture is of a well-resourced community with strong academic outcomes, a relatively homogeneous peer environment by race and income, and a housing market that demands considerable means to enter.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 68% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 72% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 64% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 68% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 72% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 89% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 67% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 883%

School 83% · District 75% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

This schoolBirmingham Public Schools, 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 6Lower-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income70%Higher-income76%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income80%Higher-income90%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income73%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income74%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income71%38 pp gap