SAT Scores: Top Nine High Schools in Detroit are all Charter Schools

When it comes to SAT scores, the top nine open-enrollment high schools in Detroit are all charter schools – another proof point that charter schools continue to lead the way when it comes to achievement.

The Michigan Departments of Education recently released 2023 SAT scores from high schools across the state. The test is taken each year by high school juniors to assess their proficiency in math and reading. The results show that the top nine open-enrollment high schools in Detroit are all charter schools.

An open-enrollment school is defined as one that accepts all students without having to pass a test, write an enrollment essay or meet other
restrictive requirements (some schools in the Detroit Public Schools Community District are not open-enrollment schools). All charter schools in
the state are open-enrollment schools, which mean they accept all students.

The top 10 Detroit schools ranked by SAT scores:

1. Oakland International Academy - 888.3 (charter)
2. Cesar Chavez Academy - 869.9 (charter)
3. Detroit Edison Public School Academy - 867.5 (charter)
4. Frontier International Academy - 814.5 (charter)
5. Hope of Detroit Academy - 808.7 (charter)
6. Voyageur Academy - 803 (charter)
7. University Preparatory Academy - 797.8 (charter)
8. Jalen Rose Leadership Academy - 796.3 (charter)
9. Lincoln-King-Adams-Young Academy - 793.6 (charter)
10. Western International High School - 786.4 (Detroit Public Schools Community District)

Dan Quisenberry, President of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), the state charter school association, said the Detroit SAT rankings are one more piece of evidence that charter schools lead the way when it comes to achievement.

“There’s so much work that needs to be done to lift student achievement across the board, but it’s notable that charter schools are leading the way,” Quisenberry said. “That’s true no matter which metric you look at. Whether it’s test scores like this or nationally recognized research, charter schools are leading the way to higher student achievement."

In addition to SAT scores, Detroit’s charter schools are also the highest-ranking schools when it comes to U.S. News and World Report rankings and college enrollment. Stanford University also recently released research that showed Michigan is one of the top 10 states in the country when it comes to charter school performance.