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Durfee ElementaryMiddle School

Public Grades PK, KG-8

1398^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 6% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Durfee Elementary-Middle School is a public school in Detroit, MI, serving 632 students in grades PK through 8 within the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where over 93% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Durfee faces significant academic challenges, with overall state rankings in the bottom 6% and a 0-star rating. The most pressing issue is chronic absenteeism: 73.8% of students were chronically absent in the 2024-2025 school year, far exceeding nearby schools like Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy (57.9%) and New Paradigm Glazer-Loving Academy (50.6%). The school also has a high student-to-teacher ratio of 20.3, compared to 12.6 at Sampson-Webber and 13.4 at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, which may limit individualized attention. Academically, there is a severe "middle school dip"—3rd-grade math proficiency is 21%, but by 6th grade it drops to just 4.17%. Despite spending $20,981 per student—higher than many peers—outcomes remain low, suggesting resources alone aren't solving the attendance and engagement hurdles.

There are bright spots worth noting. Durfee's 8th-grade science proficiency hit 41.2% in the 2025-2026 school year, more than triple the district average (12.5%) and slightly above the state average (39.2%). This stands in stark contrast to its low PSAT scores in the same grade, suggesting a possible targeted strength. Additionally, the school's ranking for African American students improved to the 15th percentile (1 star) from the 5th percentile the prior year, outpacing the school's overall ranking. However, the comparison to New Paradigm Glazer-Loving Academy—just over a mile away, serving a similar demographic, yet ranking in the 28th percentile with 5th-grade ELA proficiency nearly triple Durfee's—shows that better outcomes are achievable in the same community. For parents, Durfee offers potential pockets of success, but the high absenteeism and declining middle school performance are critical factors to weigh.

632

Students ?

20.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,981

Per pupil spending ?

93.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2425 Tuxedo St
Detroit, MI 48206-1222

(313) 252-3070

District: Detroit Public Schools Community District

Students who attend Durfee ElementaryMiddle School usually attend:

High:

Central High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

97.3%

Hispanic:

1.1%

Asian:

0.5%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Durfee ElementaryMiddle School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 1st percentile in 2019 → 6th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2019

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (14% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (74% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school14%

District avg16%

Michigan avg40%

Elementary school

1,398^th of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 6%▲ up 6 pts since 2019

From bottom 1% (2019) to bottom 6% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

776^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 13%▲ up 13 pts since 2023

From bottom 1% (2023) to bottom 13% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

42^nd of 64Elementary Schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District

541^st of 625Detroit 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
2026	8.6	1398 of 1492	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.2	1465 of 1488	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.7	1446 of 1486	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.0	1446 of 1470	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.5	1400 of 1408	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	21.2	330 of 388	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.2	352 of 369	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	319 of 348	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.6	300 of 321	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.6	442 of 475	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	8.5	1284 of 1343	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	4.7	1325 of 1342	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.0	1309 of 1321	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.2	1378 of 1443	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	11.4	1267 of 1352	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.8	1326 of 1346	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.8	1336 of 1381	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	1320 of 1350	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.8	1354 of 1397	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.8	1314 of 1372	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.0	1326 of 1366	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.7	1284 of 1347	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.7	1319 of 1334	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.5	1415 of 1446	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	13.8	776 of 896	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.8	805 of 890	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.5	843 of 897	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.0	882 of 883	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	27.2	242 of 337	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.7	241 of 338	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.4	233 of 300	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.0	308 of 310	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	21.8	308 of 366	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	36.2	506 of 789	35.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	14.6	684 of 789	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	722 of 771	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.8	763 of 770	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	10.0	724 of 794	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	18.3	706 of 834	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.1	750 of 832	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.6	771 of 836	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.7	822 of 825	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.5	760 of 815	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.2	784 of 813	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.2	748 of 798	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.0	777 of 786	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.2	749 of 797	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)15th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Female (2026)4th percentile~ school

Male (2026)4th percentile~ school

Middle school

Female (2026)36th percentile+22 vs school

African American (2026)28th percentile+15 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)15th percentile~ school

Male (2026)4th percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Science28%-12 vs state

Social Studies14%-25 vs state

Math11%-25 vs state

English Language Arts9%-31 vs state

★

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Schools Near Durfee ElementaryMiddle 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)	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
Durfee ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	2425 Tuxedo St	Detroit	48206	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 252-3070	632	31	20.3	93.4%	2 (0.3%)	615 (97.3%)	7 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	8.6	1398^th of 1492 public elementary schools	6.3%		5.2	1465^th of 1488 public elementary schools	1.5%	67	26.5	320.0	13.3	7.4	13.1	5.3	6.6	21.0	9.6	13.1	4.2	6.6	13.1	41.2	8.3	19.7	$20,981	$1,604	$19,377
University Preparatory Art Design Elementary	Public, Charter	K-5	10225 3rd St	Detroit	48202	Wayne County	University Preparatory Art & Design	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 826-1159	389	26	14.9	79.4%	5 (1.3%)	381 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	14.5	1287^th of 1492 public elementary schools	13.7%		16.8	1225^th of 1488 public elementary schools	17.7%	62			10.1	20.9	38.3			13.0	17.9	13.3			13.3		8.3		$14,825	$1,186	$13,639
Keidan Special Education Center	Public	PK, KG-8	4441 Collingwood St	Detroit	48204	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	No	(313) 873-9400	105	16	6.5	84.8%	9 (8.6%)	80 (76.2%)	16 (15.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																	$45,510	$5,027	$40,484
New Paradigm GlazerLoving Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2001 La Belle St	Detroit	48238	Wayne County	New Paradigm Glazer-Loving Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 833-1100	211	12	17.5	93.4%	0 (0.0%)	208 (98.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	25.9	1072^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	28.2%		16.7	1228^th of 1488 public elementary schools	17.5%	156	25.0	341.5	12.0	25.0	37.5	22.2	1683.5	24.0	1377.4	1468.1	1571.9	1674.8	43.8	15.0	18.8	20.0	$17,049	$1,837	$15,212
Hope Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	12121 Broadstreet Ave	Detroit	48204	Wayne County	Hope Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 934-0054	430	27	16.2	98.4%	0 (0.0%)	427 (99.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4.7	1487^th of 1492 public elementary schools	0.3%					(n/a)	37.1	357.1	6.7	8.3	1462.0	7.9	10.3	6.7	1352.2	1450.8	1556.3	7.7	1466.7	13.9	1460.7	19.4	$16,113	$1,731	$14,382
Thirkell ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	7724 14th St	Detroit	48206	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 596-0990	455	27	16.9	95.2%	1 (0.2%)	443 (97.4%)	7 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	6.1	1456^th of 1492 public elementary schools	2.4%		6.8	1428^th of 1488 public elementary schools	4.0%	28	31.6	13.2	5.9	1364.5	7.3	1571.9	11.4	6.1	14.5	5.6	1561.6	9.3	1472.9	7.5	5.6	20.0	$21,280	$1,663	$19,618
Barber Elementary School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	45 E Buena Vista St	Highland Park	48203	Wayne County	Highland Park Public School Academy System	Yes	No	No	Yes	(614) 623-5345	362	3	120.6	94.8%	1 (0.3%)	346 (95.6%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	5.1	1481^st of 1492 public elementary schools	0.7%					(n/a)	13.6	308.6	7.0	9.8	1456.3	1558.6	1665.7	1260.4	7.1	1450.1	1554.9	1667.3	1466.7	1760.9	1464.5	1775.5	$17,202	$1,780	$15,423
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School	Public	1-8	15531 Linwood St	Detroit	48238	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 494-8820	451	34	13.4	89.1%	3 (0.7%)	438 (97.1%)	10 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15.7	1260^th of 1492 public elementary schools	15.5%		8.6	1381^st of 1488 public elementary schools	7.2%	121	21.7	364.8	22.7	1372.3	20.0	20.0	17.7	18.2	1371.6	1467.4	12.0	1667.2	20.0	20.0	1471.5	29.2	$24,673	$2,085	$22,588
George Washington Carver Elementary School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-4	14510 2nd Ave	Highland Park	48203	Wayne County	George Washington Carver Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 865-6024	217	15	14.7	99.5%	0 (0.0%)	212 (97.7%)	5 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5.7	1466^th of 1492 public elementary schools	1.7%					(n/a)			8.9	7.7				13.3	1351.8								$29,562	$6,431	$23,131
SampsonWebber Leadership Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	4700 Tireman St	Detroit	48204	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 596-4750	330	26	12.6	95.2%	3 (0.9%)	282 (85.5%)	39 (11.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	13.7	1301^st of 1492 public elementary schools	12.8%		10.4	1347^th of 1488 public elementary schools	9.5%	46	25.0	342.8	1266.7	1360.8	20.0	17.9	20.7	15.6	1358.8	14.3	1557.3	13.8	20.0	13.3	1464.4	20.0	$24,496	$1,758	$22,739

Frequently Asked Questions about Durfee ElementaryMiddle School

Is Durfee ElementaryMiddle School a good school?

Durfee ElementaryMiddle School ranks in the bottom 6.3% of Michigan elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Durfee ElementaryMiddle School attend?

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

High : Central High School

What district is Durfee ElementaryMiddle School in?

Detroit Public Schools Community District

How many students attend Durfee ElementaryMiddle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 632 students attended Durfee ElementaryMiddle School.

What is the racial makeup of Durfee ElementaryMiddle School?

Students at Durfee ElementaryMiddle School are 97% African American, 1% Hispanic.

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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.