Stout Middle School, Dearborn MI

Original Research by School Decision on Stout Middle School

Stout Middle School sits on Oakwood Boulevard in Dearborn, a dense inner-ring suburb of Detroit shaped by decades of immigration and by the presence of Ford Motor Company, whose world headquarters and River Rouge Complex remain defining anchors of the local economy. The city describes itself as one of the few growing communities in Michigan, with a young population and a distinct multicultural character. Warren Avenue and nearby corridors are lined with Arab American-owned restaurants, markets, and halal butchers, and the city became the first Arab-majority municipality in the United States. For a family considering Stout, this is the backdrop: a working suburban city with deep industrial roots, an active small-business sector, and civic institutions distributed across separate campuses rather than clustered in a single downtown.

Stout is a regular public middle school serving grades six through eight, part of Dearborn City School District. The enrollment is moderate for a middle school, and the student body is predominantly white, with small representations of Black, Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the working-class character of much of the surrounding community. The school does not have charter or magnet status. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available in the provided materials, so those dimensions of the student population cannot be characterized here.

On state assessments, Stout's results paint a mixed but in some areas strong picture. In English language arts, proficiency holds steady across sixth and seventh grade, then rises sharply on the eighth-grade PSAT, where a clear majority of tested students reached proficiency. That eighth-grade ELA result stands out as a genuine strength. Math proficiency is more modest across all three grades, with the sixth grade performing strongest and seventh and eighth landing lower. Science proficiency in eighth grade is on the weaker side, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school. Social studies proficiency in eighth grade lands in a healthier range. Taken together, Stout's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Wayne County, which is a solid standing given the county's large and varied set of districts.

The school does not have a graduation rate, because it serves only middle school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available in the provided materials, nor were discipline, course access, staffing, or attendance figures. These gaps mean the picture of school climate and student support is limited to what the academic results and demographic profile can convey.

Dearborn City School District offers a free K-14 program that allows students to earn an associate degree at no cost, which is a meaningful long-term pathway for families starting at the middle school level. The district also launched a Virtual K-12 program that is open to students across Wayne County, giving families a fully online option with district teachers if that format suits their child better than the in-person setting at Stout.

The housing market around Stout is relatively affordable compared with state and national benchmarks. Home values in the school's zip code sit below the Michigan statewide typical and well below the national figure, and rents are moderate. Wayne County's broader market has seen an increase in active listings and a softening of demand, which suggests buyers have more options than they might have had a year ago. The price-to-income ratio is below the national level, and estimated monthly mortgage costs run higher than typical rent, which may factor into a family's decision about whether to buy or rent in the area.

What Stout offers is a middle school experience in a culturally rich, working-class suburb with strong district-level supports and solid academic standing relative to its county peers. The eighth-grade ELA results are a clear bright spot, while math and science are areas where a family might ask more questions. The surrounding community is affordable, diverse, and oriented around family life and local commerce rather than a single walkable downtown.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 43% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 39% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 33% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 40% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 38% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 60% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolDearborn City School 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 6Lower-income34%Higher-income59%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income50%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income82%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income68%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income48%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income45%13 pp gap