Carmanainsworth Middle School, Flint MI

Original Research by School Decision on Carmanainsworth Middle School

Carman-Ainsworth Middle School sits on Flint's west side, serving grades six through eight as part of Carman-Ainsworth Community Schools. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it draws a sizable middle-school enrollment spread fairly evenly across the three grades, with a slight tapering in eighth grade. The student body is predominantly Black, with a sizable white minority and a smaller multiracial group; Hispanic and Asian students each make up a thin slice. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places this school firmly in the category of serving a high-poverty community.

Flint itself is a mid-sized post-industrial city whose identity was forged in the automobile industry. General Motors was founded here, and the city once thrived as a manufacturing powerhouse. Decades of GM workforce reductions drove population decline and disinvestment, and the city has spent years working through recovery, including replacing lead service lines after the water crisis. The built environment reflects that history: older residential neighborhoods, vacant lots from demolition activity, a downtown core along Saginaw Street with the Capitol Theatre and Sloan Museum, and commercial strips along major corridors. Walkability is limited outside downtown, and the city is largely car-dependent. The housing market around the school is affordable by state and national standards, with typical home values well below the state benchmark and rents that sit modestly relative to income. Homes move in a reasonable timeframe, and the county market has seen a recent uptick in both listings and asking prices.

Academically, the state assessment picture is mixed and leans weak. In math, proficiency is low across all three grades, with the seventh-grade result particularly thin and eighth grade only somewhat better. English language arts tells a more encouraging story, especially in eighth grade, where nearly half of tested students reached proficiency on the PSAT-based measure. Sixth and seventh grade ELA results are far more modest, with only a small share of students proficient. Science and social studies, both tested in eighth grade, sit in the low-to-mid range, with roughly a fifth of students proficient in each. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among districts in Genesee County.

A few things are missing from the data. Participation rates for state assessments were not reported. IEP and English-learner counts are absent, so the size of those special populations cannot be characterized. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. No graduation rate applies here, since this is a middle school. Program offerings, staffing details, discipline data, and course-access information were not provided. The district brief, which would normally capture parent-relevant changes, was also absent, so there is little to say about recent strategic shifts or initiatives beyond what the assessment data itself suggests.

What a parent can take from this is a school serving a community that has weathered serious economic and public-health challenges, with a student population that is economically disadvantaged and predominantly Black. The academic results are a concern in math and in the earlier middle grades of ELA, while the eighth-grade ELA result stands out as a relative bright spot. A parent considering this school may want to ask about math supports, what intervention or tutoring options exist, and how the school builds on the stronger eighth-grade reading results as students prepare for high school. The surrounding neighborhood offers affordable housing in a city still finding its footing, with civic anchors like the Flint Public Library, the river, and downtown cultural venues nearby.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 7%

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

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 11%

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

English language arts

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 17%

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

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 16%

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

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

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

Social studies

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolCarman-Ainsworth Community 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-income15%Higher-income37%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income21%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income85%43 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income12%Higher-income26%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income6%Higher-income16%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income27%18 pp gap