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Denby High School

Q: Is Denby High School a good school?

Denby High School ranks in the bottom 6.8% of Michigan high schools.

Q: How many students attend Denby High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 464 students attended Denby High School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Denby High School?

Students at Denby High School are 98% African American.

Q: What schools feed into Denby High School?

Denby High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Brewer Academy Elementary : Carleton Elementary School Elementary : Edward Duke Ellington at Beckham Elementary : Wayne Elementary School

Public Grades 9-12

689^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 739 Michigan High Schools

Better than 7% of Michigan high schools

Summary

Denby High School is a public high school in Detroit, Michigan, serving 512 students in grades 9-12. 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.

Denby High School consistently ranks among the lowest-performing high schools in Michigan, with academic performance significantly below state and district averages across various subjects and grade levels. The school has had a four-year graduation rate ranging from 70.3% to 82.8% in recent years, which is lower than the state and district averages. Denby High School has also experienced extremely high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 29.5% to 90.3% in recent years. These challenges are not unique to Denby, as nearby schools within the Detroit Public Schools Community District, such as East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney and Osborn High School, exhibit similar academic and performance issues.

Despite a relatively high per-student spending ranging from $16,287 to $21,267 in recent years, Denby High School's performance has remained consistently low over the years, with little to no improvement in its rankings, academic proficiency, graduation rates, or other key metrics. The school's student-teacher ratio, ranging from 17.1 to 18.2, is higher than the nearby schools in the district, suggesting a need for more resources and support to address the unique needs of its student population. Collaboration with the district, community stakeholders, and educational experts may be necessary to develop and implement effective strategies to improve educational outcomes for the students at Denby High School.

464

Students ?

17.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,267

Per pupil spending ?

89.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

12800 Kelly Rd
Detroit, MI 48224-1599

(313) 866-7200

District: Detroit Public Schools Community District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

98.5%

Hispanic:

0.6%

Asian:

0.4%

See top rated Michigan high schools

Compare Denby High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — <1st percentile in 2019 → 7th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (11% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Michigan average (70% vs 83%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg25%

Michigan avg44%

689^th of 739

Michigan public high schools ?

Bottom 7%▲ up 7 pts since 2019

From bottom 1% (2019) to bottom 7% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 17High Schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District

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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	7.2	689 of 739	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.3	742 of 743	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.2	734 of 735	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.1	666 of 666	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	166 of 192	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	8.1	188 of 188	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.0	170 of 170	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.1	146 of 147	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	6.1	603 of 629	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	9.2	591 of 635	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.2	652 of 654	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.7	613 of 614	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2023	1.8	610 of 611	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)14th percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile~ school

Female (2025)4th percentile-3 vs school

Male (2023)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Michigan (2024-2025) ?

Social Studies21%-21 vs state

Science6%-28 vs state

Evidence-Based Reading and Writing6%-49 vs state

★

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Schools Near Denby High 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)	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (2025)	M-Step English Language Arts (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	SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing 11th Grade	M-Step English Language Arts 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
Denby High School	Public	9-12	12800 Kelly Rd	Detroit	48224	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-7200	464	26	17.8	89.9%	0 (0.0%)	457 (98.5%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7.2	689^th of 739 public high schools	6.8%		2.3	742^nd of 743 public high schools	0.1%	53			6.4			6.5		21.3	$21,267	$3,105	$18,162
Harper Woods Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Magnet	6-12	19872 Kelly Rd	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Harper Woods The School District of the City of	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	(800) 297-2119	1,029	5	228.6	76.4%	374 (36.3%)	603 (58.6%)	27 (2.6%)	16 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (0.9%)	3.1	735^th of 739 public high schools	0.5%		2.6	741^st of 743 public high schools	0.3%	6	22.8		15.5	17.1				4.9	$7,647	$865	$6,783
Chandler Park Academy High School	Public, Charter	9-12	20254 Kelly Rd	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Chandler Park Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 499-3010	688	37	18.5	86.2%	0 (0.0%)	686 (99.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	10.2	663^rd of 739 public high schools	10.3%		4.8	719^th of 743 public high schools	3.2%	56			22.1			16.9		14.9	$14,071	$2,522	$11,550
Harper Woods High School	Public, Magnet	9-12	20225 Beaconsfield St	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Harper Woods The School District of the City of	No	Yes	No	Yes	(313) 245-3084	877	35	25.0	82.0%	12 (1.4%)	854 (97.4%)	8 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	8.2	674^th of 739 public high schools	8.8%		5.3	712^th of 743 public high schools	4.2%	38			24.7			10.4		14.3	$19,615	$2,055	$17,560
The Harper Woods College and Career Institute	Public	9-12	20570 Kelly Rd	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Harper Woods The School District of the City of	No	No	No	No	(313) 332-8451	0	6	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney	Public	9-12	5020 Cadieux Rd	Detroit	48224	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 873-0655	639	37	17.2	88.4%	2 (0.3%)	616 (96.4%)	14 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	8	676^th of 739 public high schools	8.5%		4.9	717^th of 743 public high schools	3.5%	41			5.2			9.9		21.0	$23,125	$3,824	$19,300
Avatar Academy of Excellence	Public, Virtual	7-12	19748 Harper Ave	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Harper Woods The School District of the City of	No	No	Yes	Yes	(313) 912-3948	78	1	78.0	83.3%	1 (1.3%)	77 (98.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)									$29,227	$2,024	$27,203
Osborn High School	Public	9-12	11600 E 7 Mile Rd	Detroit	48205	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-0343	403	21	19.1	92.8%	4 (1.0%)	392 (97.3%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4.3	724^th of 739 public high schools	2.0%					(n/a)			8.2					13.3	$21,518	$3,417	$18,102
Eastpointe Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	6-12	15501 Couzens Ave	Eastpointe	48021	Macomb County	Eastpointe Community Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(586) 533-3700	128	0		85.2%	7 (5.5%)	114 (89.1%)	1 (0.8%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.9%)								(n/a)									$7,426	$2,638	$4,788
Eastpointe High School	Public	8-12	15501 Couzens Ave	Eastpointe	48021	Macomb County	Eastpointe Community Schools	No	No	No	No	(586) 533-3700	624	33	18.9	86.7%	45 (7.2%)	514 (82.4%)	9 (1.4%)	8 (1.3%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (7.1%)	3.6	731^st of 739 public high schools	1.1%		7	693^rd of 743 public high schools	6.7%	38	32.6	4.4	13.6		12.1	4.9	10.6	8.6	$28,451	$7,742	$20,709

Frequently Asked Questions about Denby High School

What schools feed into Denby High School?

Denby High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Brewer Academy
Elementary : Carleton Elementary School
Elementary : Edward Duke Ellington at Beckham
Elementary : Wayne Elementary School

Is Denby High School a good school?

Denby High School ranks in the bottom 6.8% of Michigan high schools.

What is the racial makeup of Denby High School?

Students at Denby High School are 98% African American.

What district is Denby High School in?

Detroit Public Schools Community District

How many students attend Denby High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 464 students attended Denby High School.

Rate Denby High 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.