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Ronald Brown Academy

Q: Is Ronald Brown Academy a good school?

Ronald Brown Academy ranks in the bottom 1.1% of Michigan elementary schools.

Q: How many students attend Ronald Brown Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 834 students attended Ronald Brown Academy.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Ronald Brown Academy?

Students at Ronald Brown Academy are 98% African American, 1% Hispanic.

Q: What schools do graduates of Ronald Brown Academy attend?

Students who attend Ronald Brown Academy usually go on to attend: High : East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney

Public Grades PK, KG-8

1475^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 1% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Ronald Brown Academy is a public PK-8 school in Detroit, MI, serving 834 students as part of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, where over 90% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Ronald Brown Academy faces significant academic challenges, ranking in the bottom 1% of Michigan elementary schools. Proficiency rates on state tests are dramatically lower than district and state averages across all subjects and grade levels. For example, only 7% of 3rd graders were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 14.1% in the district and 38.2% statewide. The school's performance is consistently among the lowest when compared to nearby Detroit schools like Wayne Elementary School and Marquette ElementaryMiddle School. The most critical barrier is chronic absenteeism—75.3% of students were chronically absent in the 2024-2025 school year, a rate that has persisted above 75% for four years. This makes consistent learning nearly impossible. While the school spends a substantial $20,443 per student—more than nearby high-performing schools—the investment hasn't translated into academic gains, suggesting that poverty and attendance issues, not funding alone, are the primary obstacles.

There is a stark contrast just 1.6 miles away at George Defer Elementary School in the Grosse Pointe Public Schools district, where only 12.17% of students qualify for free lunch and chronic absenteeism is 9.6%. There, 3rd-grade ELA proficiency is 62.9%, compared to Ronald Brown's 7%. Despite the challenges, there is a small glimmer of hope: 3rd-grade ELA proficiency has improved from 3.53% in 2023-2024 to 7% in 2025-2026, and 7th-grade ELA has shown similar gradual gains, suggesting some targeted interventions may be having a marginal effect.

834

Students ?

17.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,443

Per pupil spending ?

92.0%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in Michigan receive free school meals.

11530 E Outer Dr
Detroit, MI 48224

(313) 886-2611

District: Detroit Public Schools Community District

Students who attend Ronald Brown Academy usually attend:

High:

East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney

Racial breakdown:

African American:

97.7%

Hispanic:

1.2%

Two or more races:

0.6%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Ronald Brown Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — <1st percentile in 2019 → 1st in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (9% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (75% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school9%

District avg16%

Michigan avg40%

Elementary school

1,475^th of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 1%▲ up 1 pts since 2019

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

860^th of 896

Michigan public middle schools ?

Bottom 4%▲ up 4 pts since 2023

From bottom 1% (2023) to bottom 4% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

62^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	5.3	1475 of 1492	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.4	1483 of 1488	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.3	1485 of 1486	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	3.8	1464 of 1470	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	2.8	1341 of 1344	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	1.8	1408 of 1408	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	12.7	380 of 388	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.1	367 of 369	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.7	348 of 348	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.5	318 of 321	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	158 of 158	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.0	448 of 475	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	5.4	1326 of 1343	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.2	1428 of 1443	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	6.6	1343 of 1352	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.0	1344 of 1346	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.0	1344 of 1350	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.1	1375 of 1397	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	4.6	1363 of 1372	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	3.5	1364 of 1366	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	3.5	1333 of 1334	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.5	1414 of 1446	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2018	31.9	295 of 403	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	7.6	860 of 896	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.4	872 of 890	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.4	880 of 897	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.2	880 of 883	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	17.2	310 of 337	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.9	327 of 338	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.9	290 of 300	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.0	301 of 310	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	350 of 366	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	6.8	766 of 789	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.4	783 of 794	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	9.1	803 of 834	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.0	819 of 832	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.3	820 of 836	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.7	823 of 825	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.9	807 of 815	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	6.0	799 of 813	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.9	784 of 798	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.2	755 of 786	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.9	756 of 776	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	7.1	779 of 797	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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

Special Education (2018)27th percentile

African American (2026)2nd percentile~ school

Female (2026)1st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)1st percentile~ school

Male (2026)1st percentile~ school

Middle school

African American (2026)8th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)4th percentile~ school

Female (2026)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2026)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics9%-25 vs state

English Language Arts8%-32 vs state

Math8%-28 vs state

Social Studies7%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ronald Brown 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 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/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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ronald Brown Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	11530 E Outer Dr	Detroit	48224	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 886-2611	834	47	17.7	92.0%	1 (0.1%)	815 (97.7%)	10 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.6%)	5.3	1475^th of 1492 public elementary schools	1.1%		4.4	1483^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	0.3%	8	20.0	8.6	7.0	8.3	4.7	11.4	10.1	8.1	7.3	1448.7	3.4	11.4	1465.3	1769.4	1459.6	6.9	$20,443	$1,906	$18,536
Wayne Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	10633 Courville St	Detroit	48224	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-0400	234	16	14.6	91.9%	0 (0.0%)	226 (96.6%)	3 (1.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.7%)	8	1409^th of 1492 public elementary schools	5.6%		5.7	1450^th of 1488 public elementary schools	2.6%	41			1259.9	1366.8	13.3			6.5	10.0	13.3			10.3		10.0		$23,403	$1,872	$21,531
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%)	10.5	1362^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	8.7%		6.6	1434^th of 1488 public elementary schools	3.6%	72	10.5	10.5	10.0	6.3	1464.0	20.0	1662.9	18.8	11.4	1450.2	19.1	1654.1	1465.5	1765.3	1461.0	1773.6	$21,008	$2,247	$18,761
Carleton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	11724 Casino St	Detroit	48224	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-8322	379	28	13.5	95.3%	1 (0.3%)	373 (98.4%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	6.3	1451^st of 1492 public elementary schools	2.7%		7.7	1406^th of 1488 public elementary schools	5.5%	45			10.3	7.0	1468.0			7.8	14.3	1455.3			1464.4		1461.6		$23,417	$1,814	$21,603
Edward Duke Ellington at Beckham	Public	PK, KG-8	9860 Park Dr	Detroit	48213	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 852-8500	560	30	18.6	90.5%	0 (0.0%)	553 (98.8%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	5.6	1472^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	1.3%		4.9	1475^th of 1488 public elementary schools	0.9%	3	32.0	8.0	16.7	5.0	6.0	1558.8	11.9	7.7	1357.3	1450.4	1553.9	14.3	6.0	5.8	1461.3	25.5	$20,345	$1,653	$18,692
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%)	91.1	116^th of 1492 public elementary schools	92.2%		94.5	61^st of 1488 public elementary schools	95.9%	55			62.9	66.3				68.0	68.5								$16,564	$726	$15,838
Marquette ElementaryMiddle School	Public	PK, KG-8	6145 Canyon St	Detroit	48236	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 417-9360	422	28	15.2	91.5%	3 (0.7%)	413 (97.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	10.7	1359^th of 1492 public elementary schools	8.9%		5.3	1464^th of 1488 public elementary schools	1.6%	105	15.4	7.7	1261.6	11.6	17.5	8.1	10.5	16.9	21.4	12.5	1555.1	1663.8	7.5	8.1	12.5	13.9	$23,028	$2,071	$20,958
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%)	95.2	50^th of 1492 public elementary schools	96.6%		96.6	31^st of 1488 public elementary schools	97.9%	19			70.7	82.2				65.9	80.0								$16,464	$607	$15,856
Brewer Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	18025 Brock St	Detroit	48205	Wayne County	Detroit Public Schools Community District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 866-0404	441	21	21.2	96.6%	6 (1.4%)	432 (98.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6	1460^th of 1492 public elementary schools	2.1%		7.7	1407^th of 1488 public elementary schools	5.4%	53	15.1	350.5	1258.2	5.2	7.7	4.6	18.2	13.6	5.3	6.0	8.2	18.4	9.8	4.1	5.8	9.6	$20,705	$1,782	$18,923
Discovery Creative Pathways Harper Woods	Public, Charter	K-8	19360 Harper Ave	Harper Woods	48225	Wayne County	Discovery Creative Pathways	Yes	No	No	Yes	(616) 916-7590	603	33	18.2	87.9%	5 (0.8%)	572 (94.9%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	15 (2.5%)	2 (0.3%)	8.5	1399^th of 1492 public elementary schools	6.2%		4.5	1481^st of 1488 public elementary schools	0.5%	82	21.9	340.9	22.1	8.5	13.5	14.3	15.7	15.9	4.2	1456.4	5.7	5.9	8.1	10.9	1462.4	42.2	$13,032	$1,653	$11,379

Frequently Asked Questions about Ronald Brown Academy

Is Ronald Brown Academy a good school?

Ronald Brown Academy ranks in the bottom 1.1% of Michigan elementary schools.

What district is Ronald Brown Academy in?

Detroit Public Schools Community District

How many students attend Ronald Brown Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 834 students attended Ronald Brown Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Ronald Brown Academy?

Students at Ronald Brown Academy are 98% African American, 1% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Ronald Brown Academy attend?

Students who attend Ronald Brown Academy usually go on to attend:

High : East English Village Preparatory Academy at Finney

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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.