DPSCD Outpaces State, County, City Charter School Improvement on 2023 State Assessments

Highlights

  • DPSCD has largely recovered from the pandemic in Grades 3-8 ELA, outpacing Statewide performance gains.  Proficiency levels improved in M-STEP English Language Arts (ELA)/PSAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) to 14.6 percent compared to 12.6 percent in 2021-22 and 14.4 percent in 2018-19.   The State declined 3.9 percentage points in 2021-22, which remains unchanged in 2022-23.
     
  • In Grades 3-8 Math, DPSCD's improvement over 2021-22 was twice that of the state of Michigan and is much closer to full recovery to 2018-19 than the State.  Proficiency levels improved 2.5 percentage points in M-STEP/P-SAT Mathematics Grade 3-8 to 9.0 percent compared to 6.5 percent.  The State declined 4.2 percentage points in 2021-22, recovering only 1.2 percentage points in 2022-23.
     
  • Record High 11th grade performances: 11th grade college and career readiness rates improved in both SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and SAT Mathematics that exceed both 2018-19 and 2021-22, while the State stagnated compared to 2021-22 and is significantly below 2018-19 performance levels.
     
  • 75 percent of schools improved ELA/EBWR proficiency compared to 2021-22, and 54 percent exceeded their 2018-19 performance.  81 percent of schools improved their mathematics proficiency compared to 2021-22, and 44 percent exceeded their 2018-19 performance. 

 

DETROIT – August 31, 2023 – Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) announced today historic gains compared to the state scores on the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), PSAT 8, and PSAT/SAT assessments. The Michigan Department of Education released the 2023 results and DPSCD is back on track to realizing its mission to reform the largest public school district in Michigan.  Not only did the District’s proficiency rates improve across grades and subjects compared to the previous year, but student proficiency outpaced any historical M-STEP result in several grades and subjects, and significantly outpaced the recovery of the state, including Wayne County districts. 

“These results are an unquestionable statement that we are back to our reform strategy and that it is improving the academic standing of our students. We are not surprised by this improvement. A strong foundation was implemented prior to the disruption of the pandemic with clear 2018-19 improvement results. The first results also released after the pandemic demonstrated less learning loss in DPSCD than the state, county, and city charter schools. We certainly built off of that work and the 2023 assessment results once again demonstrate that we are a District on the rise. Our Central Office and principal teams worked better together this past year with a focus on teaching and learning, while our teachers and their support staff were able to focus more on students and not pandemic-related distraction. I know how hard our teachers work and I am once again excited for everyone to see the improvement that they are making with our students when the system around them is more focused, strategic, and supporting,” said Nikolai P. Vitti, Superintendent, DPSCD. "The significant investments made in our staffing, curriculum, professional development, and school student resources over the years are reflected in these results. We have more work to do, and I want our community to know that the formula we have at DPSCD is working. Results do not lie. We are committed to our strategy, and we are on our way to once again being the most improved large urban school district in the country, and in the years to come the highest performing large urban school district in the country.” 

The assessments, administered every spring to Michigan students in grades 3 through 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. However, DPSCD tracks its performance at the beginning, middle and end of the year to better identify in real-time what students need through their own assessments.  

The 7-member locally elected school board appointed Dr. Nikolai Vitti in 2017 to implement an informed strategic plan to return DPSCD to its legacy. The School Board extended the Superintendent’s 5-year contract by three years during the pandemic until the end of the 2024-2025 school year. In October 2022, Dr. Vitti was named the National Superintendent of the Year by the Council of the Great City Schools for his reform track record and ability to turnaround the District after Emergency Management and keeping the District in place during the pandemic. He is the second longest serving Superintendent in DPS/DPSCD long history.  

“The School Board was very intentional with our focus on returning to raising student achievement despite the challenges created by the pandemic. The Superintendent and his team embraced that challenge and created strong improvement for our students. All students are not where they need to be, and we will not rest until they are but we will certainly celebrate this improvement and continue to work hard and collaboratively to restore the greatness of this District. I want to thank our Superintendent, Principals, Teachers, Support Staff, Families, Students, and the greater Community for staying on the course despite all the obstacles,” said Angelique Peterson-Mayberry, Board Chair, DPSCD. 

The District’s strong improvement stands in contrast to other Michigan districts and national performance trends post-pandemic. For example, in Grades 3-8 ELA/EBRW, DPSCD has completely recovered and exceeded 2018-19 results, while the rest of Wayne RESA without DPSCD is still 3.2 percentage points behind pre-pandemic results, and improved just 0.4 points, compared to DPSCD’s 2.0-point improvement.    

Today’s results reinforce confidence in the direction and action steps taken so far as part of that plan, including: 

  • DPSCD has largely recovered from the pandemic in Grades 3-8 ELA, outpacing Statewide performance gains.  Proficiency levels improved in M-STEP English Language Arts (ELA)/PSAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) to 14.6 percent compared to 12.6 percent in 2021-22 and 14.4 percent in 2018-19.   The State declined 3.9 percentage points in 2021-22, which remains unchanged in 2022-23.
     
  • In Grades 3-8 Math, DPSCD's improvement over 2021-22 was twice that of the state of Michigan and is much closer to full recovery to 2018-19 than the State.  Proficiency levels improved 2.5 percentage points in M-STEP/P-SAT Mathematics Grade 3-8 to 9.0 percent compared to 6.5 percent.  The State declined 4.2 percentage points in 2021-22, recovering only 1.2 percentage points in 2022-23.
     
  • Record High 11th grade performances: 11th grade college and career readiness rates improved in both SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) and SAT Mathematics that exceed both 2018-19 and 2021-22, while the State stagnated compared to 2021-22 and is significantly below 2018-19 performance levels.  11th grade EBWR proficiency is now at 32.9 percent, compared to 26.9 percent in 2021-22 and 28.5 percent in 2018-19; math proficiency is now 11.7 percent, compared to 8 percent in 2021-22 and 11.4 percent in 2018-19. The State declined 3.1 percentage points in EBRW and 6.4 percentage points in Math in 2021-22, but results remain largely the same with a 0.6 percentage point improvement in EBRW and 0.1 percentage point decline in Math.
     
  • 75 percent of schools improved ELA/EBWR proficiency compared to 2021-22, and 54 percent exceeded their 2018-19 performance.  81 percent of schools improved their mathematics proficiency compared to 2021-22, and 44 percent exceeded their 2018-19 performance.
  • To better understand these results in context, the District combined EAA and DPS results to produce historical performance on M-STEP and SAT since the tests were introduced in the state, and found that, not only did performance rebound post-pandemic, but: 
    • Multiple grade-subjects had the highest proficiency rates since the M-STEP was introduced in 2014-15 
      • ELA: Grades 3, 4, 6 
      • Math: Grades 4 and 6 
    • The percentage of 11th graders who were college ready on the EBRW section of the SAT also exceeded the previous high since the SAT was introduced statewide in 2015-16  
    • The percentage of 11th graders who were college ready on the Math section of the SAT is higher than 2018-19, and is within 0.6% points of the high in 2015-16
       
  • Every student cohort performed better on the M-STEP ELA and Math assessments in 2022-23 than they did in 2021-22 (e.g., a greater proportion of 2021-22’s third graders were proficient this year in fourth grade, a greater proportion of 2021-22’s fourth graders were proficient this year in fifth grade)
     
  • In the statewide growth model, Student Growth Percentiles, which is calculated by ranking how much students improved their performance compared with peers with similar past assessment performance, multiple grade-subjects had the highest results since the measure was introduced in Spring 2016 (note grade 3 does not have SGP results calculated): 
    • ELA/EBRW: Grades 4, 6, 7, and 11  
    • Math: Grades 4, 5, 6, and 11
        

ELA 

 

2014-15* 

2015-16* 

2016-17* 

2017-18 

2018-19 

2021-22 

2022-23 

3 

11.0% 

9.5% 

9.5% 

11.3% 

11.9% 

9.0% 

12.4% 

4 

10.8% 

10.4% 

10.1% 

11.1% 

12.7% 

10.0% 

14.8% 

5 

12.1% 

12.2% 

13.7% 

12.5% 

14.1% 

11.4% 

11.6% 

6 

10.4% 

8.2% 

9.0% 

9.9% 

11.5% 

10.6% 

12.1% 

7 

14.9% 

11.4% 

11.5% 

11.7% 

13.1% 

14.2% 

14.1% 

8 

16.1% 

17.5% 

15.4% 

12.9% 

24.5%** 

23.1% 

24.0% 

11 

ACT Offered 

30.0% 

32.3% 

30.9% 

28.5% 

26.9% 

32.9% 

3-7 

11.8% 

10.4% 

10.8% 

11.3% 

12.7% 

10.9% 

13.0% 

*Spring 2015 – Spring 2017 Results reflect combination of Education Achievement Authority (EAA) and DPS schools; the two entities merged in 2017-18 to form DPSCD; bold items are highest ever results, items in green are improved over 2021-22 results  

**The State transitioned to administering the PSAT 8/9 assessment to 8th graders beginning in 2018-19

Math 

 

2014-15* 

2015-16* 

2016-17* 

2017-18 

2018-19 

2021-22 

2022-23 

3 

12.0% 

10.1% 

12.2% 

10.7% 

16.0% 

10.0% 

13.9% 

4 

7.0% 

6.9% 

8.2% 

7.4% 

10.9% 

5.5% 

11.1% 

5 

3.8% 

2.4% 

4.0% 

3.8% 

7.4% 

4.0% 

5.6% 

6 

4.7% 

3.7% 

4.6% 

5.3% 

6.5% 

3.9% 

6.7% 

7 

5.9% 

5.0% 

5.7% 

5.6% 

8.8% 

7.2% 

7.9% 

8 

6.2% 

6.4% 

6.7% 

7.5% 

9.0%** 

8.4% 

8.6% 

11 

ACT Offered 

12.3% 

11.2% 

11.6% 

11.4% 

8.0% 

11.7% 

3-7 

6.9% 

5.8% 

7.0% 

6.6% 

10.1% 

6.2% 

9.1% 

*Spring 2015 – Spring 2017 Results reflect combination of Education Achievement Authority (EAA) and DPS schools; the two entities merged in 2017-18 to form DPSCD; bold items are highest ever results, items in green are improved over 2021-22 results  

**The State transitioned to administering the PSAT 8/9 assessment to 8th graders beginning in 2018-19

These positive results are a sign of realizing the DPSCD’s vision, as teachers, families and students enter the school year positioned for another year of acceleration.  The Michigan Department of Education provides paper-based parent reports for all students who take the M-STEP Assessment.  DPSCD families should expect these reports to be sent home with students during the month of September and are welcome to schedule time to talk with their student’s teacher about what the results mean and how to support their child’s learning at home.  

About Detroit Public Schools Community District   

Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) is Michigan’s largest public school system. It is governed by a locally elected, seven-member board with Nikolai P. Vitti, Ed.D. serving as superintendent. The District’s mission is to educate and empower every student, in every neighborhood, to build a stronger Detroit. The District has more than 100 schools and educates more than 48,500 children. For more information, visit detroitk12.org and on social media @detroitk12.