Detroiters are only now absorbing the reality of potentially losing 25 struggling schools and trying to figure out where as many as 12,000 displaced students would go if their school is shut down at the end of the school year.
This map, which was shared at a meeting of educators and community leaders on Wednesday, shows Detroit schools by a state ranking that measures primarily test scores and graduation rates.
Red dots represent schools that have been ranked in the bottom 5 percent for three years in a row and are in danger of closing.
Green dots represent schools at or above the 25th percentile — the threshold state officials say consider a minimum for schools to be strong alternatives to closing schools. Yellow dots are schools in the middle. They represent schools that ranked above the 5th percentile but below the 25th.
It’s unlikely that most students displaced by closures will end up in substantially better schools. The map shows that the schools are scattered all around the city, although most of the lowest ranking schools are west of Woodward.
That’s because there are few schools in struggling cities like Detroit that have test scores significantly higher than the schools facing closure.
The 38 schools — including 25 in Detroit — on the dreaded list have all spent at least three years in the bottom 5 percent on a state ranking that measures test scores and graduation rates.
In closing the schools, officials say they hope students will move to higher-performing academies — ideally ones whose ranking is at or above the bottom quarter.
In Detroit, where 25 schools serving roughly 12,000 kids are on the chopping block, there are only 19 schools with scores above the bottom quarter, many of which are full to capacity.
Just two of the higher-performing schools are high schools — and neither is likely to take many new students.
Editor’s Note: Chalkbeat is a nonprofit news site covering educational change in public schools. This is reposted here with permission.
