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MacDowell Preparatory Academy

Public, Charter Grades PK, KG-8

1424^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 5% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

MacDowell Preparatory Academy is a public school in Detroit, MI, serving 362 students in grades PK through 8, operating as its own single-school district in an area where most schools belong to larger systems like the Detroit Public Schools Community District.

MacDowell faces significant academic challenges. Test scores are well below state averages—for example, only 6.25% of 4th graders were proficient in ELA in 2025-2026, compared to the state average of 41.3%. The school ranks in the bottom 5th percentile statewide. However, there are some bright spots: 8th grade Social Studies proficiency (29.2%) was notably closer to the state average than other subjects, and the school shows relative strength in serving its African American students compared to other schools with similar populations. The most striking comparison is with Bates Academy, located just 0.31 miles away. Bates ranks in the top 10% of Michigan schools with 77.2% ELA proficiency in 4th grade, while serving a similar demographic. This dramatic disparity within the same neighborhood suggests school-level factors—not just student demographics—are driving outcomes.

Chronic absenteeism has been a persistent issue, though it has improved significantly from 72.5% in 2021-2022 to 41.7% in 2024-2025. Still, that rate remains much higher than Bates Academy's 15%. The school spends $15,217 per student, yet outcomes haven't improved correspondingly despite increased funding and smaller class sizes. As a standalone district, MacDowell lacks the shared resources and support systems that schools in larger districts like Detroit Public Schools Community District receive. Nearby schools like Palmer Park Preparatory Academy and Pasteur Elementary School demonstrate that success is possible in this demographic context. The proximity of Bates Academy suggests improvement is possible, but may require fundamental changes in school culture, instructional approach, or district structure.

362

Students ?

16.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,217

Per pupil spending ?

90.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4201 W Outer Dr
Detroit, MI 48221-1457

(313) 494-8141

District: MacDowell Preparatory Academy

Racial breakdown:

African American:

99.2%

Hispanic:

0.6%

White:

0.3%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare MacDowell Preparatory Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 4th percentile in 2015 → 5th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (17% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (42% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school17%

District avg17%

Michigan avg40%

Elementary school

1,424^th of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 3 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

799^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 11%▲ up 2 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

593^rd of 625MacDowell Preparatory Academy 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.5	1424 of 1492	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.2	1443 of 1488	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.7	1400 of 1470	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.6	1323 of 1408	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.2	1398 of 1448	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	4.6	1438 of 1466	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	8.6	1433 of 1548	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	7.3	1516 of 1580	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	18.7	346 of 388	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.4	333 of 369	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	284 of 321	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	151 of 212	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.3	384 of 475	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2019	11.2	1092 of 1171	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.7	1367 of 1443	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	8.7	1290 of 1346	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.4	1279 of 1350	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.9	1054 of 1134	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.2	1308 of 1397	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	7.7	1303 of 1366	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.0	1315 of 1334	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.2	1370 of 1446	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.2	799 of 896	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.2	763 of 890	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.1	831 of 897	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.4	852 of 883	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.0	733 of 776	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.1	753 of 792	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.9	768 of 838	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	17.3	686 of 821	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	8.7	818 of 894	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.5	814 of 919	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	31.0	224 of 337	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	31.4	218 of 338	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.2	234 of 300	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.3	268 of 310	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.1	133 of 182	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	156 of 196	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.1	239 of 366	34.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.6	713 of 789	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.2	722 of 794	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	15.3	742 of 834	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.0	714 of 832	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.8	744 of 836	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.2	642 of 691	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	9.7	640 of 672	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	15.7	716 of 815	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	9.1	766 of 813	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.3	734 of 798	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	698 of 797	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

African American (2026)11th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2019)7th percentile~ school

Male (2025)5th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile~ school

Middle school

African American (2026)34th percentile+23 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)11th percentile~ school

Female (2026)10th percentile~ school

Male (2026)6th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies29%-10 vs state

Science17%-23 vs state

English Language Arts12%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near MacDowell Preparatory Academy

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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)	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 Mathematics 8th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 3rd Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 4th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 5th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 6th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 7th Grade	M-Step Math 3rd Grade	M-Step Math 4th Grade	M-Step Math 5th Grade	M-Step Math 6th Grade	M-Step Math 7th Grade	M-Step Science 5th Grade	M-Step Science 8th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 5th Grade	M-Step Social Studies 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
MacDowell Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	4201 W Outer Dr	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	MacDowell Preparatory Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-8141	362	22	16.4	90.9%	1 (0.3%)	359 (99.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.5	1424^th of 1492 public elementary schools	4.6%		6.2	1443^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	3.0%	19	22.9	343.3	1261.8	6.3	12.5	14.0	15.6	1262.3	1365.2	1464.2	1557.1	1656.4	1473.9	16.7	1470.0	29.2	$15,217	$71	$15,145
Bates Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	19701 Wyoming St	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-7000	773	42	18.3	61.1%	0 (0.0%)	770 (99.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	89.4	142^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	90.5%		90.5	114^th of 1488 public elementary schools	92.3%	28	80.4	50.5	58.8	77.2	61.4	72.8	79.1	75.3	72.8	51.8	65.2	74.4	50.6	37.4	41.0	56.6	$19,706	$1,540	$18,166
Vernor Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	13726 Pembroke Ave	Detroit	48235	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-7342	340	20	17.4	92.4%	1 (0.3%)	333 (97.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	14.3	1293^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	13.3%		11.8	1319^th of 1488 public elementary schools	11.4%	26	24.2	328.2	1262.5	21.6	22.0	14.3	12.0	19.5	17.1	1464.9	1564.7	1661.6	17.1	1770.7	14.6	1776.6	$20,201	$1,754	$18,447
Bagley Elementary School of Journalism and Technology	Public	PK, KG-7	8100 Curtis St	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-7175	374	22	17.2	85.8%	0 (0.0%)	364 (97.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	17.8	1218^th of 1492 public elementary schools	18.4%		15.9	1247^th of 1488 public elementary schools	16.2%	29			6.3	22.6	24.4	20.8	22.8	29.8	18.8	7.3	19.2	14.0	17.5		20.0		$19,996	$1,654	$18,342
Schulze Academy for Technology and Arts	Public	PK, KG-8	10700 Santa Maria St	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 340-4400	630	34	18.5	88.4%	1 (0.2%)	620 (98.4%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	6	1462^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	2.0%		7.9	1401^st of 1488 public elementary schools	5.8%	61	28.1	4.5	12.1	6.8	10.3	9.3	16.5	9.1	5.6	4.8	6.8	3.4	9.5	6.7	1462.5	18.9	$20,253	$1,577	$18,676
Pasteur Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-7	19811 Stoepel St	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-7314	310	27	11.6	89.4%	0 (0.0%)	306 (98.7%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24.4	1092^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	26.8%		12.7	1305^th of 1488 public elementary schools	12.3%	213			1273.1	20.6	19.2	11.1	27.3	1266.1	17.6	23.1	1572.7	23.8	26.9		38.5		$26,521	$3,031	$23,490
Martin Luther King Junior Education Center Academy	Public, Magnet, Charter	K-8	16827 Appoline St	Detroit	48235	Wayne County	Martin Luther King Junior Education Center Academy	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(313) 341-4944	234	10	23.4	84.2%	49 (20.9%)	183 (78.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)								(n/a)			1275.7	1375.2	1467.0	1574.1	1671.9	1269.2	21.7	1452.8	1556.1	1668.2	1469.5		1463.1		$21,216	$1,476	$19,739
AdamsYoung Building	Public, Charter	K-5	13130 Grove St	Detroit	48235	Wayne County	Lincoln-King Adams-Young Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 522-7602	520	8	65.0	87.3%	0 (0.0%)	515 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	5.2	1478^th of 1492 public elementary schools	0.9%		6.2	1444^th of 1488 public elementary schools	3.0%	34			1265.5	10.6	13.3			5.1	1362.3	1453.2			10.3		1466.7		$13,222	$1,635	$11,587
Palmer Park Preparatory Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	3901 Margareta St	Detroit	48221	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-7300	405	25	16.2	59.8%	48 (11.9%)	340 (84.0%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.5%)	44.5	786^th of 1492 public elementary schools	47.3%		30	1012^th of 1488 public elementary schools	32.0%	226	34.8	10.9	31.3	42.1	36.4	61.9	47.5	34.4	31.6	18.2	42.9	25.6	27.3	8.7	27.3	21.7	$22,495	$1,827	$20,669
Lessenger Early Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	12901 Albany St	Oak Park	48237	Oakland County	Oak Park School District of the City of	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(248) 336-7690	54	10	5.5	79.6%	0 (0.0%)	53 (98.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																	$25,310	$2,436	$22,873

Frequently Asked Questions about MacDowell Preparatory Academy

Is MacDowell Preparatory Academy a good school?

MacDowell Preparatory Academy ranks in the bottom 4.6% of Michigan elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of MacDowell Preparatory Academy?

Students at MacDowell Preparatory Academy are 99% African American.

What district is MacDowell Preparatory Academy in?

MacDowell Preparatory Academy

How many students attend MacDowell Preparatory Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 362 students attended MacDowell Preparatory Academy.

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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.