What are the best schools in Southeastern Michigan?

Written by Posted On Sunday, 14 April 2019 06:43

Let's talk about the top schools and school districts in the suburbs of Detroit and in the South Eastern Michigan.  First I want to say that many of the rankings that you see on the internet are going to be different especially from year to year.    Some of the rankings are subjective and most of them have their own ranking systems.  So how do you figure out which schools will be the best for your children?  Which community and school district will be the best fit for your children may be some of the questions.  Below I have listed three different rankings by different websites from different years.  What you have to take out of this article is if the school system you are looking at is in one or more of these top of schools around metro Detroit.Livonia Schools

 

When you are moving to the South East Michigan area and have school age children finding the best schools in Michigan is going to one of the top factors in choosing a community for you.  I am going to give you a list of some of the top schools systems in SE Michigan.  If you do not know this you will want to remember this as you look for homes in South eastern Michigan.  Many cities have multiple school systems that serve the city.  If you find a school system that you like it may encompass several cities.  You may love a particular city and a particular schools system, but the home you choose in the city may actually fall into a different schools system.  So do your research and double check with your Michigan relocation real estate agent to make sure the home you have chosen falls into the school system that you want.

Here is a list of some of the top ranked school systems in Michigan according to Niche.com.  This is how Niche.com came to rank these schools.

FactorDescriptionWeight
Academics Grade Based on state assessment proficiency, SAT/ACT scores, and survey responses on academics from students and parents. 50.0%
Teachers Grade Based on teacher salary, teacher absenteeism, state test results, and survey responses on teachers from students and parents. 15.0%
Culture & Diversity Grade Based on racial and economic diversity and survey responses on school culture and diversity from students and parents. 10.0%
Parent/Student Surveys on Overall Experience Niche survey responses scored on a 1-5 scale regarding the overall experience of students and parents in the district. 10.0%
Health & Safety Grade Based on chronic student absenteeism, suspensions/expulsions, and survey responses on the school environment from students and parents. 5.0%
Resources & Facilities Grade Based on expenses per student, staffing, and survey responses on facilities from students and parents. 5.0%
Clubs & Activities Grade Based on expenses per student and survey responses on clubs and activities from students and parents. 2.5%
Sports Grade Based on the number of sports, participation, and survey responses on athletics and athletic facilities from students and parents. 2.5

School kids

 

One caveat that I have to say is that these are three different website's rankings.  I myself would rank some other school districts in here. I would also rank some of them differently.  You should use these lists as just one of the ways to rank school districts in the suburbs of Detroit.  It is not an absolute list.

 

Best schoolI have to tell you a story that impacted me.  I once dated a women that used to get mad at me when I would mention that my real estate clients thought Waterford Schools were a bad school district based on website rankings.  Her comment back to me has stuck with me and makes sense.  She said "It also boils down to parental involvement.  My son and many others from Waterford schools went on to college, graduated, and have good jobs.  In fact one kid down the street went to University of Michigan which is the top ranked University in Michigan.  You have to have a very high grade point and good ACT/SAT scores to get in.  Yet he went to Waterford schools."  She was right in some aspects.  If you are involved and push your kids to do well in school then many times it's not just about the school district.

Most of the schools systems in Metro Detroit are good.  Yes there are some bad schools systems or low ranked school systems that you want to avoid but we will get into that later.  

I am only going to include the top school districts in South eastern Michigan on how they ranked.

  1. Bloomfield Hills Schools              Oakland County
  2. Troy Schools                               Oakland County
  3. Birmingham Schools                   Oakland County
  4. Grosse Pointe Schools                 Wayne County 
  5. Novi Schools                               Oakland County
  6. Saline Schools                            Washtenaw County 
  7. Northville Schools                       Wayne Count
  8. Rochester Schools                       Oakland County
  9. Ann Arbor Schools                       Washtenaw County
  10. Oakland Schools                          Oakland County
  11. Berkley Schools                           Oakland County 
  12. Brighton Schools                          Livingston County 
  13. Grosse Ilse Schools                     Wayne County 
  14. Walled Lake Schools                    Oakland County
  15. Plymouth - Canton Schools          Wayne County
  16. Dexter Schools                             Washtenaw County
  17. Lake Orion Schools                      Oakland County 
  18. West Bloomfield Schools              Oakland County
  19. Hartland Schools                          Livingston County
  20. Trenton Schools                           Wayne County
  21. Fraser Schools                             Oakland County
  22. Livonia Schools                            Wayne County
  23. Utica Schools                               Macomb County
  24. Farmington Schools                      Oakland County
  25. Clarkston Schools                         Oakland County

Moving to Michigan

 

Here is a second list from background checks

Top School Districts in Michigan, 2018

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