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Carstens ElementaryMiddle School

Q: How many students attend Carstens ElementaryMiddle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 266 students attended Carstens ElementaryMiddle School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Carstens ElementaryMiddle School?

Students at Carstens ElementaryMiddle School are 99% African American.

Public Grades PK, KG-8

Summary

Carstens ElementaryMiddle School is a public school in Detroit, Michigan, serving 274 students in grades PK-8. The school is part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, which is ranked 549 out of 613 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Carstens ElementaryMiddle School faces significant challenges, including extremely high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 29.5% to 71.6% over the past few years, well above state and district averages. The school also consistently performs well below state and district averages on standardized tests, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math around 10-15% compared to state averages of 38-42%. Additionally, over 95% of Carstens' students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty student population.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as Hamilton Academy, Nichols ElementaryMiddle School, and Garvey Academy, also perform poorly and have similar challenges, suggesting that the issues facing Carstens ElementaryMiddle School are not unique but rather systemic within the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Despite the high per-student spending at Carstens, there is little evidence of improvement in academic outcomes or other key metrics over the past several years.

266

Students ?

14.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,798

Per pupil spending ?

95.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

13000 Essex Ave
Detroit, MI 48215-3243

(313) 866-5500

District: Detroit Public Schools Community District

Students who attend Carstens ElementaryMiddle School usually attend:

High:

East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney

Racial breakdown:

African American:

98.9%

Hispanic:

0.8%

American Indian:

0.4%

See top rated Michigan public schools

Compare Carstens ElementaryMiddle School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (14% vs 46% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (69% vs 28% Michigan)

!Math scores 33 pts below the Michigan average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school14%

District avg19%

Michigan avg46%

843^rd of 890

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 5 pts since 2024

From bottom 10% (2024) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

549^th of 613Detroit Public Schools Community District 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
2024	12.3	1299 of 1486	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2024	33.1	219 of 348	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	13.1	475 of 475	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	4.4	1441 of 1443	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2024	16.6	1206 of 1381	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	5.3	1395 of 1397	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	4.8	1441 of 1446	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	843 of 890	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	803 of 897	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	287 of 338	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.1	201 of 300	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	14.6	360 of 366	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	5.4	785 of 794	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	9.6	787 of 832	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.1	741 of 836	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	5.9	811 of 815	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2024)37th percentile+24 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2024)13th percentile~ school

Male (2018)<1st percentile

Female (2018)<1st percentile

Middle school

African American (2025)15th percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)5th percentile~ school

Female (2018)1st percentile

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts14%-25 vs state

Math10%-33 vs state

★

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Schools Near Carstens ElementaryMiddle School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PSAT English Language Arts (2025)	PSAT Mathematics (2025)	M-Step English Language Arts (2025)					M-Step Math (2025)					M-Step Science (2025)		M-Step Social Studies (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Carstens ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	13000 Essex Ave	Detroit	48215	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-5500	266	19	14.0	95.5%	0 (0.0%)	263 (98.9%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)	19.1					14.8	13.0	10.0									$21,798	$2,921	$18,877
Detroit Merit Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1091 Alter Rd	Detroit	48215	Wayne County	Detroit Merit Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 331-3328	719	39	18.4	82.3%	2 (0.3%)	647 (90.0%)	13 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	54 (7.5%)	17.8	1204^th of 1488 public elementary schools	19.1%		18.1	1199^th of 1486 public elementary schools	19.3%	5	41.9	12.9	22.5	28.0	34.9	24.0	33.8	18.8	21.7	16.3	8.0	16.4	16.3	19.7	4.7	19.7	$13,675	$2,590	$11,085
Detroit Enterprise Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	11224 Kercheval St	Detroit	48214	Wayne County	Detroit Enterprise Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 823-5799	686	38	18.0	88.9%	2 (0.3%)	618 (90.1%)	13 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (7.4%)	21.1	1137^th of 1488 public elementary schools	23.6%		28.7	1041^st of 1486 public elementary schools	29.9%	96	50.0	26.3	22.8	27.0	27.3	20.0	35.2	26.6	31.5	13.0	21.7	33.8	15.6	19.7	16.9	23.7	$13,816	$2,737	$11,079
George Defer Elementary School	Public	K-4	15425 Kercheval Ave	Grosse Pointe Park	48230	Wayne County	Grosse Pointe Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(313) 432-4000	460	27	16.8	12.2%	372 (80.9%)	28 (6.1%)	18 (3.9%)	12 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.3%)	94.5	61^st of 1488 public elementary schools	95.9%		90.3	102^nd of 1486 public elementary schools	93.1%	41			67.4	80.0				68.5	76.3								$15,528	$1,268	$14,260
Hutchinson ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	2600 Garland St	Detroit	48214	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-4169	379	27	14.1	90.0%	1 (0.3%)	367 (96.8%)	10 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9.3	1369^th of 1488 public elementary schools	8.0%		9.8	1345^th of 1486 public elementary schools	9.5%	24	23.5	13.7	7.5	16.3	21.1	21.4	19.1	7.5			10.3		7.9	11.8		17.6	$20,678	$2,823	$17,855
Barack Obama Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	10800 E Canfield St	Detroit	48214	Wayne County	Barack Obama Leadership Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 823-6000	329	8	41.1	92.4%	0 (0.0%)	321 (97.6%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	6.6	1436^th of 1488 public elementary schools	3.5%					(n/a)	25.8		9.1		16.1	7.5		6.8					16.1	9.7			$15,521	$00	$15,521
Lewis Maire Elementary School	Public	K-4	740 Cadieux Rd	Grosse Pointe	48230	Wayne County	Grosse Pointe Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(313) 432-4300	252	13	19.0	6.0%	202 (80.2%)	10 (4.0%)	15 (6.0%)	4 (1.6%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.9%)	96.6	31^st of 1488 public elementary schools	97.9%		96.8	24^th of 1486 public elementary schools	98.4%	7			65.9	84.2				80.5	77.2								$17,649	$916	$16,733
Hamilton Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	14223 Southampton St	Detroit	48213	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 870-0556	358	23	15.5	97.2%	0 (0.0%)	353 (98.6%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6.6	1434^th of 1488 public elementary schools	3.6%		4.5	1475^th of 1486 public elementary schools	0.7%	41	11.4		6.5		11.8	6.8		17.4				8.3					$19,677	$3,204	$16,473
Nichols ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	3000 Burns St	Detroit	48214	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 852-0800	311	18	17.7	92.0%	4 (1.3%)	295 (94.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.2%)	17.8	1203^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	19.2%		7.5	1403^rd of 1486 public elementary schools	5.6%	200	13.3		44.1	16.1	13.8	12.1	15.2	20.6	12.5		9.1	9.1				63.3	$22,282	$2,099	$20,183
Garvey Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	2301 Van Dyke St	Detroit	48214	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-7400	434	33	13.1	90.1%	4 (0.9%)	421 (97.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	10.3	1352^nd of 1488 public elementary schools	9.1%		9.8	1346^th of 1486 public elementary schools	9.4%	6	28.0			11.8	24.4	12.5	15.6	11.9	8.6	8.9		6.7	20.5		8.9	12.0	$21,694	$2,087	$19,606

Frequently Asked Questions about Carstens ElementaryMiddle School

What schools do graduates of Carstens ElementaryMiddle School attend?

Students who attend Carstens ElementaryMiddle School usually go on to attend:

High : East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney

How many students attend Carstens ElementaryMiddle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 266 students attended Carstens ElementaryMiddle School.

What district is Carstens ElementaryMiddle School in?

Detroit Public Schools Community District

What is the racial makeup of Carstens ElementaryMiddle School?

Students at Carstens ElementaryMiddle School are 99% African American.

Rate Carstens ElementaryMiddle School!

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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.