• Literacy and Math Improvement is Systemic: 75% of schools improved in ELA proficiency improvement and 81% in Math from School Year (SY) 2022-23 to SY2023-24.
• Aggregate Pandemic Learning Loss in Math Eliminated in Math Proficiency for Grades 3-7: Similar to last year’s accomplishment in literacy, the district saw a significant improvement in Math proficiency rates, increasing by 1.9 percentage points from 9.1% to 11.0% for grades 3-7, compared to the state's increase of 0.9 percentage points, exceeding pre-pandemic levels and reaching record highs since the M-STEP began in SY2014-15.
• ELA Performance Surpasses Previous Records Across Key Grades: In 2022-23, 14.6% of students in Grades 3-8 were proficient in ELA. In 2023-24, proficiency improved to 15.9% (+1.3 percentage points), while the state saw an increase of 0.2 percentage points in the same grades. This represents continued progress from pre-pandemic levels, with gains made across tested grades. These grades combined have continued to exceed all previous ELA proficiency rates since the M-STEP was first introduced in 2014-15.
• Social Studies and Science Improve and Reach Record Highs: In 2022-23, 9.9% of students in grades 5, 8, and 11 were proficient in Science, and 7.5% in Social Studies. In 2023-24, Science proficiency improved to 12.6% (+2.7 percentage points) outperforming the state’s increase of 0.5 percentage points, while Social Studies proficiency rose to 10.1% (+2.6 percentage points), above the state’s increase of 2.3 percentage points.

DETROIT – August 28, 2024 – Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) announced today continued progress in student achievement, with new record highs in proficiency rates on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) and PSAT 8 assessments. The 2024 results, released by the Michigan Department of Education, indicate DPSCD has not only sustained the gains made in the wake of the pandemic but has also set new benchmarks for academic success in several grades and across all subjects while also outpacing statewide improvement in all tested subject areas.

"We are not surprised by the reports of improved results today. Our district and school leaders, teamed with our teachers and support staff, are embracing a performance culture with the rebuilding of our school district," said Dr. Nikolai P. Vitti, Superintendent, DPSCD. "Our reform is systemic and intentional. We are one of the few school districts that has now eliminated aggregate pandemic learning loss in literacy and mathematics. Our numbers don’t lie. We have seen more improvement academically since the pandemic than state averages, other school districts, and large urban school districts for the past two school years. This work and commitment are far from over though. Our students must, can, and will achieve at higher levels. Our goal is to accelerate our continued improvement to even higher levels and sustain it far into the future. Improving student attendance is a key to that acceleration and sustainability. Our performance once again demonstrated that if a student is not chronically absent, then they are 3 to 5 times more likely to be at and above grade level performers."

The 2023-24 assessment results mark another year of consistent gains for DPSCD. According to a report produced by Harvard and Stanford in early 2024, DPSCD outperformed the state in post pandemic progress last year. In addition to setting new proficiency records, the district maintained post-pandemic improvements and saw substantial increases in student performance across many tested grades and subjects. Notably, students across grades 3-7 experienced significant improvements in Math and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency, reflecting the effectiveness of the improvement in teacher recruitment and retention, targeted core and intervention instructional strategies, increased access to high-quality instructional materials, and the commitment of our teachers to meet each student's unique needs. Furthermore, social studies and science proficiency rates have also reached new heights.

The assessments, administered every spring to Michigan students in grades 3 - 8 and to high school students in grade 11, provide a common measure of achievement across the state. The results allow students, families and educators to understand progress toward grade level expectations and make meaningful plans for improvement.

"We are incredibly proud of the progress our district has made this year. As a Board, we would like to acknowledge the work of Dr. Vitti, District staff, and our amazing school leaders and teachers. Through the Board’s leadership, our Strategic Plan set very clear academic goals of improvement with an aligned balanced budget to drive improvement and results… and the District delivered! We are very proud of our students for showing this improvement, and we know the work must continue with even more progress. With an updated Strategic Plan, we recognize the need to more precisely name areas that still need improvement with their corresponding metrics,” said Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, Board Chair, DPSCD.

District Results

English Language Arts

Math

Comparisons to the State

‘23SY to ‘24SY Percentage Point Change by Test and Subject Area