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Inkster Preparatory Academy

Public, Charter Grades PK, KG-8

1243^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools

Better than 17% of Michigan elementary schools

Summary

Inkster Preparatory Academy is a PK-8 school in Inkster, MI, serving about 220 students as its own single-school district, where 94% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most significant challenge facing this school is chronic absenteeism. During the 2024-2025 school year, 63.3% of students were chronically absent—meaning they missed 10% or more of the school year. That's more than double the state average of 27.9%. While this represents real improvement from a pandemic-era peak of 87.4%, it remains the defining issue. To put this in perspective, nearby Kinloch Elementary School serves a similar demographic profile but has a chronic absenteeism rate of just 10.9% and earns a 4-star rating. The connection between attendance and achievement is clear: test scores at Inkster Preparatory Academy run 20-30 percentage points below state averages. For example, only 15.2% of 3rd graders are proficient in English Language Arts versus 38.2% statewide. The school spends a substantial $17,640 per student, but that investment is difficult to translate into results when most students are missing significant instructional time.

There are encouraging signs, however. African American student performance has improved meaningfully, rising from the 21st percentile statewide in 2022-2023 to the 46th percentile in 2025-2026. The student-teacher ratio has also stabilized at 22:1 after an anomalous 212.8:1 ratio in 2022-2023. Chronic absenteeism is trending downward, and the school's overall ranking has improved from the 6th to the 17th percentile over three years. An 8th grade PSAT English Language Arts cohort achieved 40% proficiency in 2023-2024, hinting at what's possible with a stable, engaged group of students. The path forward requires an intense focus on attendance as the foundational issue—no curriculum improvement can overcome two-thirds of students missing school regularly. The school should also examine what's working for its African American students and replicate those strategies across all subgroups.

220

Students ?

22.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$17,640

Per pupil spending ?

94.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

27355 Woodsfield St
Inkster, MI 48141-1242

(313) 278-3825

District: Inkster Preparatory Academy

Racial breakdown:

African American:

82.7%

Two or more races:

7.7%

Hispanic:

5.9%

See top rated Michigan elementary schools

Compare Inkster Preparatory Academy to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 6th percentile in 2023 → 17th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2023

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Michigan average (20% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (17th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (63% vs 28% Michigan)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school20%

District avg20%

Michigan avg40%

1,243^rd of 1,492

Michigan public elementary schools ?

Bottom 17%▲ up 11 pts since 2023

From bottom 6% (2023) to bottom 17% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

552^nd of 625Inkster Preparatory Academy 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
2026	16.7	1243 of 1492	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.8	1344 of 1486	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.5	1383 of 1470	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	41.0	208 of 388	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.8	248 of 348	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.3	254 of 321	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	22.6	1052 of 1343	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Michigan percentile	Rating
2026	25.2	1049 of 1352	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.3	1293 of 1381	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.7	1264 of 1350	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)46th percentile+30 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)22nd percentile+6 vs school

Female (2026)22nd percentile+5 vs school

By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?

Math25%-10 vs state

Science19%-20 vs state

English Language Arts15%-24 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, December 3, 2020

This does not care about the students. 90of staff has an attitude problem. I can not wait tell next year my child will not be returning. Close Quote

Schools Near Inkster Preparatory 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/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
Inkster Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	27355 Woodsfield St	Inkster	48141	Wayne County	Inkster Preparatory Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(313) 278-3825	220	10	22.0	94.1%	4 (1.8%)	182 (82.7%)	13 (5.9%)	3 (1.4%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.7%)	16.7	1243^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	16.7%					(n/a)	20.0	326.0	15.2	1369.7	19.2	12.0	1667.6	36.4	1362.2	11.5	1556.8	1657.8	19.2	1772.5	1468.4	1776.7	$17,640	$3,341	$14,299
David Hicks School	Public	PK, KG-5	100 Helen St	Inkster	48141	Wayne County	Wayne-Westland Community School District	No	No	No	Yes	(734) 419-2660	466	24	19.1	79.6%	66 (14.2%)	362 (77.7%)	17 (3.6%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.8%)	5.9	1463^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	1.9%		7.4	1415^th of 1488 public elementary schools	4.9%	48			8.7	9.6	14.1			14.5	1357.3	4.2			7.0		1463.3		$17,101	$2,734	$14,367
Lathers Early Childhood and Kindergarten Center	Public	PK-K	28351 Marquette St	Garden City	48135	Wayne County	Garden City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(734) 762-8490	222	28	7.8	53.2%	157 (70.7%)	31 (14.0%)	17 (7.7%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.8%)								(n/a)																	$21,995	$1,542	$20,452
Tipton Academy PK3	Public, Charter	PK, KG-3	1615 Belton St	Garden City	48135	Wayne County	Tipton Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(734) 261-0500	301	21	14.5	73.4%	96 (31.9%)	179 (59.5%)	9 (3.0%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	13 (4.3%)								(n/a)			30.4					24.6									$00	$00	$00
Kinloch Elementary School	Public, Magnet	K-4	1505 Kinloch St	Dearborn Heights	48127	Wayne County	Crestwood School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(313) 278-4482	557	34	16.2	72.4%	534 (95.9%)	16 (2.9%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	88.2	159^th of 1492 public elementary schools	89.3%		82	244^th of 1488 public elementary schools	83.6%	85			57.8	63.8				63.0	68.1								$15,791	$1,274	$14,517
Daly School	Public	PK, KG-6	25824 Michigan Ave	Inkster	48141	Wayne County	Westwood Community School District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 565-0016	175	10	17.5	92.6%	24 (13.7%)	136 (77.7%)	9 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.9%)								(n/a)			1265.4	1363.4	1467.7	1570.1		1263.3	1360.4	1454.4	1561.3		1469.0		1462.4		$19,770	$2,508	$17,262
Haigh Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	601 N Silvery Ln	Dearborn	48128	Wayne County	Dearborn City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(313) 827-6200	552	36	15.2	60.9%	527 (95.5%)	6 (1.1%)	8 (1.4%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	73.1	369^th of 1492 public elementary schools	75.3%		81.6	253^rd of 1488 public elementary schools	83.0%	116			60.0	59.6	63.5			57.6	49.5	50.6			37.6		25.9		$19,088	$1,448	$17,641
Memorial Elementary 12 Campus	Public	1-2	30001 Marquette St	Garden City	48135	Wayne County	Garden City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(734) 762-8480	419	29	14.6	53.9%	302 (72.1%)	45 (10.7%)	38 (9.1%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.9%)								(n/a)																	$18,639	$1,899	$16,740
American International Academy Elementary	Public, Charter	K-3	300 S Henry Ruff Rd	Westland	48186	Wayne County	American International Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(734) 713-5525	195	15	12.7	96.4%	0 (0.0%)	192 (98.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)								(n/a)			1261.6					1257.2									$00	$00	$00
Eugene B Elliott Elementary School	Public	K-5	30800 Bennington St	Westland	48186	Wayne County	Wayne-Westland Community School District	No	No	No	Yes	(734) 419-2610	386	23	16.7	71.2%	154 (39.9%)	160 (41.5%)	41 (10.6%)	15 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.1%)	14.8	1279^th of 1492 public elementary schools	14.3%		11.7	1324^th of 1488 public elementary schools	11.0%	45			11.5	22.4	28.3			9.6	13.2	13.3			19.7		18.0		$19,868	$2,387	$17,482

Frequently Asked Questions about Inkster Preparatory Academy

What district is Inkster Preparatory Academy in?

Inkster Preparatory Academy

Is Inkster Preparatory Academy a good school?

Inkster Preparatory Academy ranks in the bottom 16.7% of Michigan elementary schools.

How many students attend Inkster Preparatory Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 220 students attended Inkster Preparatory Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Inkster Preparatory Academy?

Students at Inkster Preparatory Academy are 83% African American, 8% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic, 2% White, 1% Asian.

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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.