U.S. News and World Report Rankings: Top Eight Elementary Schools in Detroit are Charter Schools

By every metric, research study, and ranking, the top open-enrollment schools in Detroit are all charter schools. That proved true once again when U.S. News and World Report recently released its ranking of the Best Elementary Schools in America.

In looking at the ranking of open-enrollment elementary schools in Detroit, the top eight schools are all charter schools. An open-enrollment school is defined as any public schools (charter or traditional) which admits all students without having to take an entrance exam or pass an interview process.

By law, all charter schools in the state are open-enrollment schools. According to the U.S. News and World Report 2026 rankings, the top elementary schools in Detroit are:

U.S. News and World Report uses an in-depth formula that looks each school’s performance on standardized tests in math and English, looking at how students perform statewide and in comparison with neighboring schools.

“The U.S. News and World Report rankings are considered the gold standard when it comes to school rankings, and it’s not surprising to see charter schools at the top,” said Dan Quisenberry, President of the Michigan Association of Public School Academies (MAPSA), the state charter school association. “It’s further evidence and affirmation that charter schools are leading the way when it comes to academic performance. As we look to improve K-12 education as a state, we need to look first at what’s working, and so much of what’s working can be seen in the state’s charter schools.”

Not surprisingly, Pembroke Academy is at the top of the list. The school has far and away the highest M-STEP scores among all schools in Detroit – in every subject and at every grade level – and was named a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education in 2024.

Pembroke Academy uses an innovative approach in which students are placed in a class not by their age but by their proficiency level. The school then works with the family to develop and intense and personalized learning plan to make sure the student is at or above grade level by the time they graduate in eighth grade. The results have been phenomenal.

Pembroke Academy not only ranks as the No. 1 elementary school in Detroit; it also ranks No. 186 among all elementary schools in Michigan – more than 3,600 in all.

“That’s remarkable,” Quisenberry said. “Pembroke Academy is one of the greatest success stories in K-12 education in the past few decades. Every lawmaker and policymaker in Michigan should be visiting that school to see how they do it.”