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Marion Law Academy

Public Grades PK, KG-8

1461^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 2% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Marion Law Academy is an elementary school in Detroit, MI, serving 386 students in grades PK through 8 as part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where over 94% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Marion Law Academy is facing significant challenges that parents should know about. The school's overall state ranking has dropped sharply from the 12th percentile in recent years to the bottom 2nd percentile for 2025-2026, meaning it now ranks among the lowest-performing schools in Michigan. Proficiency rates in reading and math are well below both district and state averages across most grade levels. Perhaps the most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism: 76.6% of students were chronically absent in 2024-2025, meaning they missed substantial amounts of school. This rate is dramatically higher than the state average of 27.9% and also exceeds the district average of 60.9%. For comparison, nearby Pulaski ElementaryMiddle School has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 29.2%, showing that high attendance is achievable in the same area. The school spends a substantial $23,001 per student—more than most nearby schools—yet these resources are not translating into academic gains.

There are a few bright spots worth noting. In 2024-2025, 5th-grade students achieved a 31.4% proficiency rate in science, more than double the district average and nearly matching the state average—though this success was not sustained the following year. Additionally, Mason Academy, another nearby district school, has struggled even more in recent years, showing that Marion Law is not alone in facing these difficulties. However, the contrast with Legacy Charter Academy, located just 1.41 miles away, is striking: Legacy serves a similarly high-poverty population but achieves significantly higher proficiency rates, has a much lower chronic absenteeism rate (52.9%), and spends about $8,600 less per student. This comparison suggests that the challenges at Marion Law are not inevitable and that addressing attendance and instructional quality could make a meaningful difference for students.

386

Students ?

15.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,001

Per pupil spending ?

94.0%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

91.4%

Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines (2025-26)

Exemptions: 8.6% (any vaccine)

19411 Cliff St
Detroit, MI 48234-3257

(313) 866-3400

District: Detroit Public Schools Community District

Students who attend Marion Law Academy usually attend:

High:

Osborn High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

96.4%

Two or more races:

1.3%

White:

1.0%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Marion Law Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 12th percentile in 2024 → 2nd in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (10% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (77% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school10%

District avg16%

Michigan avg40%

Elementary school

1,461^st of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 10 pts since 2024

From bottom 12% (2024) to bottom 2% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

881^st of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 8 pts since 2023

From bottom 10% (2023) to bottom 2% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

57^th 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	6.0	1461 of 1492	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.2	1316 of 1488	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.0	1309 of 1486	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	15.7	362 of 388	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	30.8	244 of 369	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.0	215 of 348	38.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2025	12.2	1219 of 1338	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.1	1196 of 1342	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	9.1	1311 of 1352	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.7	1157 of 1346	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.3	1176 of 1381	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2024	14.3	1183 of 1347	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	881 of 896	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.1	830 of 890	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.9	853 of 897	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	794 of 883	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	15.0	319 of 337	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	24.8	265 of 338	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.3	266 of 300	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.5	233 of 310	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.6	818 of 834	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.5	755 of 832	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	775 of 836	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	681 of 825	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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

Male (2024)12th percentile~ school

Female (2025)9th percentile-3 vs school

African American (2026)7th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)3rd percentile~ school

Middle school

African American (2026)5th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Social Studies11%-28 vs state

English Language Arts10%-29 vs state

Science8%-32 vs state

Math6%-30 vs state

★

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Schools Near Marion Law 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 Vaccination 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)		Vaccination (2025-26)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	Vaccination: Kindergartners complete for all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Marion Law Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	19411 Cliff St	Detroit	48234	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-3400	386	26	15.1	94.0%	4 (1.0%)	372 (96.4%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	6	1461^st of 1492 public elementary schools	2.1%		12.2	1316^th of 1488 public elementary schools	11.6%	145	22.9	316.3	1261.0	9.1	17.9	7.3	8.1	6.0	5.8	1448.4	7.3	1661.5	7.7	1767.5	1463.8	11.4	91.4%	8.6%	$23,001	$1,622	$21,379
Mason Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	19955 Fenelon St	Detroit	48234	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-3600	476	31	15.2	90.3%	0 (0.0%)	466 (97.9%)	6 (1.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	15.3	1268^th of 1492 public elementary schools	15.0%		5.6	1456^th of 1488 public elementary schools	2.2%	188	37.0	316.5	35.7	6.3	20.8	5.7	8.5	36.6	6.4	1463.6	11.3	6.5	10.2	10.9	12.5	23.9	82.1%	5.1%	$21,853	$1,637	$20,216
Legacy Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	4900 E Hildale St	Detroit	48234	Wayne County	Legacy Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 368-2215	738	41	18.2	96.7%	3 (0.4%)	662 (89.7%)	8 (1.1%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	57 (7.7%)	32.2	967^th of 1492 public elementary schools	35.2%		30	1014^th of 1488 public elementary schools	31.9%	47	44.8	8.6	35.7	32.1	37.0	19.8	36.4	42.9	42.3	32.1	6.2	23.4	17.3	12.1	7.4	25.9	79.5%	3.6%	$14,376	$2,221	$12,154
Brenda Scott Academy for Theatre Arts	Public	PK, KG-8	18440 Hoover St	Detroit	48205	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-6700	754	41	18.5	95.0%	5 (0.7%)	732 (97.1%)	10 (1.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	9.8	1373^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	8.0%		9.7	1364^th of 1488 public elementary schools	8.3%	9	18.4	313.4	12.3	9.1	17.1	26.0	12.2	15.1	7.6	1461.8	4.1	1661.2	5.7	3.9	1465.7	1773.5	100%	0%	$20,616	$1,652	$18,964
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	K-5	22100 Federal Ave	Warren	48089	Macomb County	Van Dyke Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(586) 758-8342	378	25	15.1	97.6%	46 (12.2%)	264 (69.8%)	11 (2.9%)	8 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (13.0%)	9.7	1376^th of 1492 public elementary schools	7.8%		10.6	1344^th of 1488 public elementary schools	9.7%	32			14.0	14.1	21.9			14.3	14.3	1461.8			12.5		1466.7		79.7%	10.9%	$20,302	$3,500	$16,802
Mound Park Elementary School	Public	4-5	5356 Toepfer Rd	Warren	48091	Macomb County	Fitzgerald Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(586) 757-7590	296	18	16.0	79.7%	55 (18.6%)	129 (43.6%)	20 (6.8%)	64 (21.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (9.5%)	12.7	1316^th of 1492 public elementary schools	11.8%		16	1245^th of 1488 public elementary schools	16.3%	71				17.6	29.0				10.6	7.1			18.6		10.0				$16,996	$1,498	$15,498
Dove Academy of Detroit	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	20001 Wexford St	Detroit	48234	Wayne County	Dove Academy of Detroit	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 366-9110	487	30	16.2	86.2%	0 (0.0%)	486 (99.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11	1350^th of 1492 public elementary schools	9.5%		9.7	1363^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	8.4%	13	36.0	10.0	1270.1	19.6	8.9	19.1	10.3	6.1	5.4	1458.5	17.0	10.3	1467.7	1773.0	1464.5	10.2	87.9%	4.5%	$13,553	$1,859	$11,695
Trix Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	20045 Joann St	Detroit	48205	Wayne County	Michigan Educational Choice Center	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 426-1020	302	18	17.2	—	4 (1.3%)	286 (94.7%)	7 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	9.9	1372^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	8.0%		9.1	1371^st of 1488 public elementary schools	7.9%	1	23.3	335.3	10.0	13.3	10.7	10.0	1668.9	27.5	11.4	1451.2	1564.1	1656.5	1466.7	1776.0	1465.7	10.0	96.3%	0%	$13,775	$2,695	$11,080
Commonwealth Community Development Academy	Public, Magnet, Charter	PK, KG-8	13477 Eureka St	Hamtramck	48212	Wayne County	Commonwealth Community Development Academy	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	(313) 366-9470	150	10	15.5	92.7%	4 (2.7%)	146 (97.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17.9	1216^th of 1492 public elementary schools	18.5%		12.4	1310^th of 1488 public elementary schools	12.0%	94			1263.1	21.1	21.4	23.1		1267.6	21.1	1466.1	1565.7		1474.5		1467.1				$14,064	$2,998	$11,066
Pulaski ElementaryMiddle School	Public	K-8	13840 Lappin St	Detroit	48205	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-7022	296	17	17.4	96.6%	4 (1.4%)	271 (91.6%)	11 (3.7%)	5 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	8.8	1395^th of 1492 public elementary schools	6.5%		8.2	1390^th of 1488 public elementary schools	6.6%	5	35.0	15.0	8.8	7.1	11.8	24.1	17.2	14.7	7.1	8.0	14.3	17.2	9.8	25.0	1466.6	30.0	92.3%	0%	$23,009	$1,766	$21,243

Frequently Asked Questions about Marion Law Academy

Is Marion Law Academy a good school?

Marion Law Academy ranks in the bottom 2.1% of Michigan elementary schools.

What district is Marion Law Academy in?

Detroit Public Schools Community District

What schools do graduates of Marion Law Academy attend?

Students who attend Marion Law Academy usually go on to attend:

High : Osborn High School

What is the racial makeup of Marion Law Academy?

Students at Marion Law Academy are 96% African American, 1% Two or more races, 1% White.

How many students attend Marion Law Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 386 students attended Marion Law Academy.

Rate Marion Law Academy!

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Latest Michigan data All new data »

2021–22 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

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

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.