Carstens ElementaryMiddle School

Carstens ElementaryMiddle School is a public PK-8 school in Detroit, MI, serving 266 students within the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where over 95% of students come from economically disadvantaged households.

If your child is entering the middle school grades, Carstens shows some promising signs. In the most recent school year, 8th graders significantly outperformed the district average on the PSAT English Language Arts exam, with 47.6% scoring proficient compared to just 32.1% district-wide. That’s a dramatic jump from the previous year’s 19.05% proficiency rate. The school also posted strong 8th-grade results in Science (23.8% proficient, nearly double the district’s 12.5%) and Social Studies (28.6% proficient, beating the district’s 25.2%). These scores also surpass several nearby schools like Hamilton Academy and Garvey Academy. Even in 6th and 7th grade ELA, Carstens students perform at or above the district average, suggesting a possible strength in the upper grades.

However, the elementary years tell a different story. For example, only 10.34% of 5th graders were proficient in ELA, a stark contrast to the 82.2% proficiency at Lewis Maire Elementary School in the nearby Grosse Pointe Public Schools district. Chronic absenteeism is a major challenge, affecting 69.4% of Carstens students—more than double the state average and higher than the district’s already-high 60.9%. While the school invests heavily in its students ($25,080 per pupil with a 14:1 student-teacher ratio), the combination of high poverty and persistent absenteeism remains the biggest hurdle. For parents, Carstens offers a dedicated, well-funded environment with clear pockets of success in middle school, but you’ll want to pay close attention to attendance and consider how the elementary years compare to your child’s needs.