The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gee Compass Academy
GEE CompassAcademy is a tuition-free charter school founded in 2023 and headquartered in Ypsilanti, Michigan. It was established as a full-time online public school academy, authorized by Grand Valley State University and managed by Global Educational Excellence, serving families statewide. The school lists kindergarten through grade 12 in its charter, though its enrolled students are concentrated almost entirely in the middle grades, with only a handful in upper elementary and high school. This is a very new school still building its enrollment, and the data reflects that early stage.
The academic results available come from Michigan's 2024-25 state assessments. State testing data was not available for grades 3 through 5, which had no test-takers reported, consistent with the school having essentially no students in those grades this year. Where results exist, in grades 6 through 8, proficiency is low. In math, grade 6 and grade 8 showed very few or no students reaching proficiency, and grade 7 was only slightly higher. English language arts results were somewhat stronger, with roughly a fifth of seventh graders and a quarter of eighth graders demonstrating proficiency. Science and social studies results for grade 8 were also at the low end. Measured against the set used here, relative to districts in Washtenaw County, the school's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile. Washtenaw County is an unusually high-performing county academically, home to Ann Arbor and several well-resourced districts, so this positioning is steep competition for a brand-new cyber school serving a high-need population. A parent may want to look into how the school plans to support academic growth in coming years, given that it is early in its lifecycle.
The student body is small. Nearly all enrolled students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, one of the highest shares you will see. The racial composition is predominantly white, with a substantial Asian student population and very small Black and multiracial representation. Data on English learners and students with disabilities was not available, so those populations could not be characterized. No graduation rate was reported, which is consistent with the school having almost no high school students enrolled yet and being in its first full testing cycle. Chronic absenteeism figures were also unavailable.
Ypsilanti itself is a college town shaped by Eastern Michigan University. The city has a compact grid core with two historic commercial districts, downtown and Depot Town, connected by the West Cross Street area near campus. The Huron River and the Border-to-Border Trail run through town, and the city holds the second-largest contiguous historic district in Michigan. Eastern Michigan University is the dominant employer, and the local economy has shifted from automotive manufacturing toward education and services. The city is close to Ann Arbor and within easy reach of Detroit via I-94. Housing in the school's zip code sits above the Michigan state benchmark and near the national figure, with rents modestly above state levels, so families considering the area for its relatively affordable cyber option should weigh that the local market is not the cheapest in the region.
As a cyber charter, GEE Compass Academy offers a different proposition from a brick-and-mortar school. Its strengths are not yet in measured academic outcomes, which are early and low. Its appeal is more about access and flexibility: a tuition-free, full-time online option for Michigan families, managed by an established operator, with a statewide reach. A family considering this school should ask direct questions about instructional support, teacher availability, and how the school plans to move students toward proficiency, especially in math. For a family seeking an online pathway and comfortable with a school still in its founding years, this may be a reasonable starting point. For families prioritizing established academic track records or in-person peer environments, the current data does not yet support that choice here.
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