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Detroit, Michigan - 1 schools
An equity score of 56/100 ranks Detroit Merit Charter Academy #251 of 707 districts in Michigan (state average 50). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $11,642 per pupil, Detroit Merit Charter Academy ranks #619 of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending (Michigan districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
703
Total Enrollment
1
Schools
$11,642
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Detroit Merit Charter Academy operates 1 public schools serving 703 students, placing it among the smallest districts in Michigan. The school portfolio breaks down into 1 elementary schools, a small enough portfolio that most families will interact with nearly every campus in the district at some point. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Wayne County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $11,642 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 821 Michigan districts by per-pupil spending. See how Michigan compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 0.5% local, 80.8% state, and 18.7% federal, a state-revenue-heavy mix that insulates the district somewhat from local property-tax volatility, though it ties funding to state budget cycles. The district's equity score is 56/100, ranked #251 of 707 in Michigan against a state average of 50, in line with the typical spread seen across the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
and 66.5% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 90.0% African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% White across the district's schools.
Its largest campus is Detroit Merit Charter Academy, enrolling 719 students (100% of the district's total enrollment).
Detroit Merit Charter Academy accounts for 100.0% of all Detroit Merit Charter Academy student enrollment
That is an overwhelming concentration, leaving the rest of Detroit Merit Charter Academy a distant remainder — means Detroit Merit Charter Academy-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: elementary. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Detroit Merit Charter Academy has higher-than-average Title I eligibility — 87.2% of the population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch
free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is the federal threshold for Title I funding allocations, established under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015). Areas above 75% eligibility — including this one — receive concentration grants on top of the basic Title I formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Detroit Merit Charter Academy chronic absenteeism rate is 66.5% — well above typical (typically associated with unusually large scale or acute resource constraints)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Values this far above typical often signal acute resource constraints or a structurally different scale than most peers — worth reading alongside the underlying counts, not the ratio alone.
Comparisons are relative to Detroit Merit Charter Academy's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data and the F-33 Finance Survey.
Nearby Districts in Michigan
Top districts in the same state, compare side-by-side for enrollment, spending, and demographics.
How many schools are in Detroit Merit Charter Academy?
Detroit Merit Charter Academy has 1 school, including 1 elementary. Total enrollment is 703 students.
How much does Detroit Merit Charter Academy spend per student?
Detroit Merit Charter Academy spends $11,642 per student. The district has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #251 in Michigan.
What is the demographic composition of Detroit Merit Charter Academy?
Detroit Merit Charter Academy students are 90.0% African American, 1.8% Hispanic or Latino, 0.3% White, averaged across 1 school. Source: NCES CCD Membership 2024-25.
What is the equity score for Detroit Merit Charter Academy?
Detroit Merit Charter Academy has an equity score of 56/100, ranking #251 out of 707 districts in Michigan.