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William Ford Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
1003rd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,492 Michigan Elementary Schools
Better than 33% of Michigan elementary schools
Summary

William Ford Elementary School is a PK-5 school in Dearborn, MI, serving 580 students as part of the Dearborn City School District, where nearly 89% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

William Ford's overall academic performance is modest, ranking in the 33rd percentile statewide, which places it below several nearby district schools. For example, in 3rd grade ELA, only 23.2% of William Ford students were proficient, compared to 57.5% at Maples Elementary School and 54.8% at Iris Becker Elementary School. The gap is similar in 3rd grade math, where William Ford's 28.6% proficiency trails Maples' 66.7% and Iris Becker's 69%. However, the school shows a notable strength in upper elementary math: by 5th grade, William Ford students actually meet or exceed the district average in math, a pattern that has held for four consecutive years. The school also performs relatively well with economically disadvantaged students, ranking in the 52nd percentile for that subgroup, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 25.2% is better than many nearby schools, including Miller Elementary School (33%) and Iris Becker Elementary School (37.4%).

Compared to alternatives outside the district, William Ford is a much stronger option. It significantly outperforms Academy for Business and Technology Elementary (8th percentile) and Gardner Elementary School (10th percentile), both of which also serve high-poverty populations but have chronic absenteeism rates above 55%. William Ford's spending of about $20,900 per student is higher than Maples Elementary School ($18,500), yet Maples achieves significantly better results, suggesting that resource allocation, not just funding, matters. The school has also shown resilience since the pandemic, recovering from a 5th percentile ranking in 2020-2021 to its current level. Areas needing attention include science (27.1% proficiency), social studies (16.7%), and declining performance with English Language Learner students, which dropped from the 38th to the 24th percentile over the past two years.

580
Students ?
12.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,942
Per pupil spending ?
89%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 14749 Alber St
       Dearborn, MI  48126-2099

(313) 827-6400

District: Dearborn City School District


Students who attend William Ford Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Woodworth Middle School
High:    Fordson High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
97.8%
Asian:
1.2%
Hispanic:
0.7%
more
 See top rated Michigan elementary schools

 Compare William Ford Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2016 → 33rd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Michigan average (28% vs 38% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 12 percentile points since 2016
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school28%
District avg39%
Michigan avg38%
1,003rd of 1,492
Michigan public elementary schools ?
Bottom 33%▼ down 12 pts since 2016
From bottom 45% (2016) to bottom 33% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Michigan Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
17th of 19Elementary Schools in the Dearborn City School District
268th of 625Dearborn City School 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202630.01003 of 149232.8%★★☆☆☆
202539.7869 of 148841.6%★★☆☆☆
202439.2861 of 148642.1%★★☆☆☆
202334.5927 of 147036.9%★★☆☆☆
202236.0826 of 134438.5%★★☆☆☆
20218.61093 of 11535.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201932.6950 of 140832.5%★★☆☆☆
201842.1908 of 144837.3%★★☆☆☆
201734.8955 of 146634.9%★★☆☆☆
201645.9855 of 154844.8%★★☆☆☆
201557.6666 of 158057.8%★★★☆☆
201439.91016 of 153333.7%★★☆☆☆
201325.91246 of 156320.3%★☆☆☆☆
201233.91172 of 156625.2%★☆☆☆☆
201126.91326 of 155214.6%★☆☆☆☆
201030.11308 of 155215.7%★☆☆☆☆
200923.41390 of 158912.5%★☆☆☆☆
200822.21392 of 157711.7%★☆☆☆☆
200733.51273 of 156518.7%★☆☆☆☆
200648.61005 of 154535.0%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202623.5143 of 18823.9%★☆☆☆☆
202534.4112 of 17335.3%★★☆☆☆
202438.1114 of 18438.0%★★☆☆☆
202335.5114 of 18036.7%★★☆☆☆
202234.468 of 9830.6%★★☆☆☆
201940.071 of 11739.3%★★☆☆☆
201841.2151 of 27044.1%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202626.6961 of 134328.4%★☆☆☆☆
202531.5902 of 133832.6%★★☆☆☆
202431.9905 of 134232.6%★★☆☆☆
202328.0939 of 132128.9%★☆☆☆☆
202232.4763 of 110631.0%★★☆☆☆
20219.0871 of 9023.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201922.6948 of 117119.0%★☆☆☆☆
201843.5861 of 144340.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202647.6648 of 135252.1%★★★☆☆
202559.0473 of 134664.9%★★★☆☆
202452.8585 of 138157.6%★★★☆☆
202346.8679 of 135049.7%★★☆☆☆
202250.1509 of 109953.7%★★★☆☆
202114.1701 of 7496.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201951.1523 of 113453.9%★★★☆☆
201861.5478 of 139765.8%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202625.11010 of 137226.4%★☆☆☆☆
202538.7812 of 136640.6%★★☆☆☆
202436.7836 of 134737.9%★★☆☆☆
202331.7896 of 133432.8%★★☆☆☆
202226.6845 of 113925.8%★☆☆☆☆
20215.4907 of 9150.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201933.2805 of 119632.7%★★☆☆☆
201839.7911 of 144637.0%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
201850.0175 of 40356.6%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMichigan percentileRating
202616.21051 of 119912.3%★☆☆☆☆
202523.1974 of 120619.2%★☆☆☆☆
202424.3953 of 120420.8%★☆☆☆☆
202321.3987 of 119817.6%★☆☆☆☆
202223.2889 of 110219.3%★☆☆☆☆
20215.1993 of 10051.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.3953 of 112815.5%★☆☆☆☆
201826.3992 of 125320.8%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2018)57th percentile+19 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)52nd percentile+19 vs school
Female (2026)28th percentile-4 vs school
Male (2026)26th percentile-6 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)24th percentile-9 vs school
White (2026)12th percentile-20 vs school
By subject vs Michigan (2025-2026) ?
Math32%-6 vs state
English Language Arts28%-14 vs state
Science27%-13 vs state
Social Studies17%-11 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about William Ford Elementary School

Students who attend William Ford Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Woodworth Middle School
High : Fordson High School

William Ford Elementary School ranks 1003rd of 1492 Michigan elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at William Ford Elementary School are 98% White, 1% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 580 students attended William Ford Elementary School.

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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.

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