DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – In 2023-24, there were just 16% of the Detroit Public Schools Community District third through eighth grade students that were rated as proficient or better in state testing in English Language Arts.

Yet, Detroit students passed 80% of the classes they were enrolled in for 2023-24. That percentage is higher than the Traverse City Area Public Schools, which was 77.3%. The state average was 87.3%.

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That percentage of courses passed is a new statistic tracked by the state of Michigan.

James Hines, spokesman for the Center for Educational Performance and Information, gave an example of how the calculations were done.

“For example, if a district had three Math courses, and each course had 25 students, 20 of whom were reported as passing in each class, the calculation for Math courses in that district would be:

60 courses reported as Completed/Passed divided by 75 total courses reported = 80% of courses passed.”

That such a high percentage of students are passing classes is not consistent with the district’s academic track record.

The Detroit Public Schools Community District has a long track record of poor academic results. The district for years has been the worst large urban school district in The Nation’s Report Card, a biannual test put out by National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

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Detroit Public Schools Community District didn’t respond to an email seeking comment.