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University Preparatory Art Design High School

Public, Charter Grades 9-12

681^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 800 Michigan High Schools

Better than 15% of Michigan high schools

Summary

University Preparatory Art Design High School is a public charter high school in Detroit, MI, serving 855 students in grades 9-12 with a specialized focus on art and design. It operates within the University Preparatory Art & Design district.

The most striking thing about this school is the contrast between its graduation rate and its test scores. On one hand, UPAD boasts a 93.4% graduation rate—well above the state average of 84% and comparable to elite schools like Cass Technical High School (97.6%) and Detroit Edison Public School Academy High School (97.6%). This suggests the school is very effective at keeping students on track to earn a diploma. However, academic proficiency is a major concern. Only 24.8% of 11th graders were proficient in reading on the SAT, compared to the 52.1% state average, and math proficiency is critically low—just 3.45% of 9th graders and 3.64% of 10th graders scored proficient on the PSAT math section. This math deficit has persisted for years, indicating a systemic challenge. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism at 57.7%, which is notably higher than at Cass Tech (31.1%) or Detroit Edison (44.8%).

There are some positive signs. The school's overall state ranking jumped to the 15th percentile in 2025-2026, its highest in nearly a decade. Additionally, UPAD shows a relative strength in serving its African American students, ranking in the 42nd percentile for that subgroup. However, resources are a concern: per-student spending is $12,967—far less than the $22,858 spent at Detroit School of Arts—and the student-teacher ratio of 23.1 is among the highest in the area. When comparing UPAD to its sister school, University Preparatory High School, located just 0.37 miles away, UPAD actually has a higher graduation rate (93.4% vs. 95.7% for the other) and lower chronic absenteeism (57.7% vs. 38.7%). For parents, this school offers strong graduation support and an arts-focused environment, but families should be aware of the significant academic challenges, particularly in math, and the high rate of absenteeism.

855

Students ?

23.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,967

Per pupil spending ?

73.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

485 W Milwaukee St
Detroit, MI 48202-3220

(313) 481-4000

District: University Preparatory Art & Design

Racial breakdown:

African American:

99.1%

White:

0.4%

Two or more races:

0.4%

See top rated Michigan high schools

Compare University Preparatory Art Design High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 15th percentile in 2014 → 15th in 2026

Strengths

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the Michigan average (84%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (20% vs 43% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (58% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school20%

District avg20%

Michigan avg43%

681^st of 800

Michigan public high schools ?

Bottom 15%▬ steady since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Michigan High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

565^th of 625University Preparatory Art & Design among Michigan districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	17.4	723 of 890	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.0	823 of 897	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.7	763 of 883	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	7.9	741 of 776	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.4	650 of 675	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.0	764 of 792	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.0	750 of 838	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	7.2	786 of 821	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	14.1	765 of 894	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	16.3	766 of 919	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	11.1	824 of 921	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	12.1	829 of 919	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	18.6	776 of 900	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	39.2	180 of 338	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.8	230 of 300	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.5	201 of 310	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	21.7	154 of 182	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.4	64 of 77	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.4	172 of 196	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.5	213 of 366	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	21.9	622 of 789	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	686 of 771	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.3	639 of 770	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	627 of 657	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.4	500 of 521	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.4	644 of 658	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	697 of 794	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	716 of 832	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	784 of 836	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	708 of 825	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.7	663 of 691	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.2	646 of 672	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.1	691 of 815	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	8.5	752 of 798	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.1	769 of 786	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.7	753 of 776	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.5	623 of 639	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.1	691 of 797	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.8	681 of 800	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	7.0	692 of 739	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.9	655 of 743	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	685 of 735	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.2	620 of 666	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.2	639 of 824	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	11.1	652 of 835	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	9.3	727 of 852	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.7	657 of 832	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	11.5	681 of 799	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	13.4	676 of 805	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	11.1	677 of 773	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	36.7	145 of 252	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.9	147 of 192	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	35.0	119 of 188	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.9	130 of 170	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.8	101 of 147	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.7	126 of 254	50.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	13.8	584 of 686	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	4.2	617 of 629	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.1	543 of 619	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	5.1	588 of 611	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.0	520 of 554	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.6	592 of 710	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	15.8	619 of 719	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	7.0	607 of 635	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	580 of 654	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	6.4	594 of 614	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.4	489 of 532	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.3	571 of 755	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.4	605 of 693	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	6.4	593 of 628	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.5	603 of 633	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.9	594 of 611	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.1	528 of 543	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.0	568 of 707	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	9.9	308 of 315	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Middle school

African American (2025)47th percentile+28 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile-5 vs school

Male (2025)6th percentile-13 vs school

High school

African American (2026)42nd percentile+28 vs school

Female (2026)15th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)14th percentile~ school

Male (2026)13th percentile~ school

Special Education (2018)2nd percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts35%-24 vs state

Evidence-Based Reading and Writing25%-27 vs state

Social Studies23%-20 vs state

Science17%-18 vs state

Mathematics4%-29 vs state

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, March 14, 2012

This school is completely unorganized. The teachers are all young and inexperienced. Most are straight out of college with no children of their own. The kids run wild and face little discipline if rules are broken. My child has gone without a teacher for a very long time and deals with substitutes on a daily basis. There are no grades listed for him as of yet. I am pulling my child out of this school as he tells me that the teachers sit on facebook all day and also text. I am not impressed with this beautiful school at all. It looks great but it operates poorly. I would not be surprised if it closes within the next few years. Close Quote

Schools Near University Preparatory Art Design High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				PSAT English Language Arts (2026)			PSAT Mathematics (2026)			SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2026)	SAT Mathematics (2026)	M-Step English Language Arts (2026)		M-Step Math (2026)		M-Step Science (2026)		M-Step Social Studies (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PSAT English Language Arts 8th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 9th Grade	PSAT English Language Arts 10th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 8th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 9th Grade	PSAT Mathematics 10th Grade	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	SAT Mathematics 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Science 11th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
University Preparatory Art Design High School	Public, Charter	9-12	485 W Milwaukee St	Detroit	48202	Wayne County	University Preparatory Art & Design	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 481-4000	855	37	23.1	73.3%	3 (0.4%)	847 (99.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	12.8	681^st of 800 public high schools	14.9%		7	692^nd of 739 public high schools	6.4%	11		36.2	33.6		3.5	3.6	24.8	373.8						17.1		23.1	$12,967	$1,273	$11,693
University Preparatory High School	Public, Magnet, Charter	9-12	600 Antoinette St	Detroit	48202	Wayne County	University Preparatory Academy (PSAD)	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(313) 874-4340	559	39	14.3	66.7%	2 (0.4%)	548 (98.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.4%)	9.5	709^th of 800 public high schools	11.4%		17.8	594^th of 739 public high schools	19.6%	115		30.7	26.7		2.1	364.4	25.2	407.2						11.0		18.9	$00	$00	$00
Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men	Public	9-12	9026 Woodward Ave	Detroit	48202	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 596-3555	68	11	6.1	82.4%	0 (0.0%)	67 (98.5%)	1 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33.8	511^th of 800 public high schools	36.1%					(n/a)		338.2	26.7		300.0	363.3	36.8	417.4						16.7		52.6	$43,070	$4,966	$38,104
Detroit Lions Academy	Public	6-12	2001 W Warren Ave	Detroit	48208	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 852-9677	400	34	11.7	91.3%	5 (1.3%)	384 (96.0%)	8 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7.4	736^th of 800 public high schools	8.0%					(n/a)	14.0	21.7	14.3	276.0	13.0	342.9	356.8	305.3	1553.2	10.0	1539.1	7.1	1760.7	2070.2	6.6	2079.2	$27,046	$2,827	$24,220
AchieveDetroit	Public, Charter	9-12	2001 W Warren Ave	Detroit	48208	Wayne County	Achieve-Detroit	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(248) 867-4176	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	4.6	773^rd of 800 public high schools	3.4%					(n/a)		12.5	20.0		310.8	348.8	10.4	334.4						2073.2		14.9
Detroit School of Arts	Public	9-12	123 Selden St	Detroit	48201	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-6000	523	36	14.6	70.9%	15 (2.9%)	488 (93.3%)	8 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (1.7%)	29	551^st of 800 public high schools	31.1%		11.9	647^th of 739 public high schools	12.4%	96		53.1	50.0		13.8	10.1	45.9	9.8						25.2		26.7	$22,858	$3,007	$19,851
Northwestern High School	Public	9-12	2200 W Grand Blvd	Detroit	48208	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 596-0700	305	23	13.2	87.9%	2 (0.7%)	299 (98.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4.8	768^th of 800 public high schools	4.0%					(n/a)		15.8	16.5		4.0	5.1	14.9	361.4						2063.1		12.0	$26,459	$3,099	$23,360
Crockett Midtown High School of Science and Medicine	Public	9-12	571 Mack Ave	Detroit	48201	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-1805	191	13	14.6	81.2%	6 (3.1%)	170 (89.0%)	6 (3.1%)	7 (3.7%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23.7	583^rd of 800 public high schools	27.1%		5.3	713^th of 739 public high schools	3.5%	130		35.6	31.6		6.7	14.0	29.4	17.6						28.6		48.6	$24,639	$2,657	$21,982
Oakland International Academy 912	Public, Charter	9-12	2619 Florian St	Hamtramck	48212	Wayne County	Oakland International Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 285-8990	614	16	39.2	88.4%	402 (65.5%)	62 (10.1%)	4 (0.7%)	142 (23.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	20.6	605^th of 800 public high schools	24.4%		28.6	515^th of 739 public high schools	30.3%	90		37.6	30.8		18.8	9.3	27.2	11.9						19.9		40.4	$10,938	$912	$10,025
Detroit Edison Public School Academy High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3403 Saint Aubin St	Detroit	48207	Wayne County	Detroit Edison Public School Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 475-0679	419	20	20.5	59.2%	2 (0.5%)	393 (93.8%)	14 (3.3%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	19.3	615^th of 800 public high schools	23.1%		26.2	529^th of 739 public high schools	28.4%	86		37.8	47.5		10.2	8.9	30.1	6.5						16.1		31.2	$12,006	$1,136	$10,870

Frequently Asked Questions about University Preparatory Art Design High School

How many students attend University Preparatory Art Design High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 855 students attended University Preparatory Art Design High School.

What district is University Preparatory Art Design High School in?

University Preparatory Art & Design

Is University Preparatory Art Design High School a good school?

University Preparatory Art Design High School ranks in the bottom 14.9% of Michigan high schools.

What is the racial makeup of University Preparatory Art Design High School?

Students at University Preparatory Art Design High School are 99% African American.

Rate University Preparatory Art Design High School!

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2025–26 M-Step, PSAT & SAT test scoresSep 4, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJun 13, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataJan 6, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Michigan Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.