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Best kept secret at George Defer Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
460
Elementary
DISTRICT 348 · STATE 369
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GROSSE POINTE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 262574006219
George Defer Elementary School
15425 KERCHEVAL AVE, GROSSE POINTE PARK, MI 48230 · (313) 432-4000 · Wayne County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL460 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 94% of Michigan public elementary schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Michigan public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.8:1 · STATE 15.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
12%
56 students
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 55%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 99 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 93 | 20% |
| Grade 2 | 96 | 21% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 80 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (99) is 24% larger than its 4th grade class (80).
Student demographics
34%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 42% · STATE 56% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
M-STEP 2024-25 . % Advanced + ProficientEnglish Language Arts
73.3%
MI avg 47.7%
Math
72.1%
MI avg 44.8%
What this means: On the M-STEP, Michigan's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Michigan schools, those numbers are about 48 and 45.
Source: M-STEP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
72.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.9%
based on MI schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Michigan schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Michigan's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like George Defer Elementary School
George Defer Elementary School's state test result (72.9% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Defer Elementary School this school | 460 | 12.2% | 72.9% |
| Northwood Elementary School ROYAL OAK | 446 | 12.8% | 71.2% |
| Georgetown Elementary School HUDSONVILLE | 450 | 11.3% | 66.8% |
| Sayre Elementary School SOUTH LYON | 450 | 14.0% | 58.1% |
| Pleasant Ridge Elementary School SALINE | 474 | 14.3% | 67.7% |
| Isbister Elementary School PLYMOUTH | 422 | 13.5% | 70.3% |
Matched among Michigan elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where George Defer Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Michigan | In Wayne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.9% | #46 of 1,085 | #7 of 165 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.1% | #72 of 1,072 | #8 of 165 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.3% | #54 of 1,139 | #7 of 176 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 460 | #409 of 1,630 | #101 of 301 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.9:1 | #932 of 1,424 | #173 of 281 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 33.6% | #739 of 1,424 | #130 of 281 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 12.2% | #1,488 of 1,563 | #279 of 294 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +37.7% | #38 of 440 | #10 of 91 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
460
+33 (+8%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 444
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
was 15.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 460 | 27.3 | 16.9:1 | 12% (56) |
| 2023-24 | 464 | 25.4 | 18.3:1 | 17% (80) |
| 2022-23 | 441 | 28 | 15.8:1 | 16% (72) |
| 2020-21 | 427 | 28 | 15.3:1 | 19% (79) |
| 2017-18 | 334 | 19.5 | 17.1:1 | 21% (69) |
| 2015-16 | 299 | 21 | 14.2:1 | 20% (59) |
| 2010-11 | 392 | 25 | 15.7:1 | 20% (80) |
| 2000-01 | 441 | 28 | 15.8:1 | 9% (39) |
| 1990-91 | 444 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for George Defer Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 38% (334 to 460); teachers up 40% (19.5 to 27.3).
About George Defer Elementary School
George Defer Elementary School is a mid-sized elementary school in GROSSE POINTE PARK, Michigan, one of the schools in Grosse Pointe Public Schools. The school runs kindergarten through 4 and enrolls 460 students. Elementary schools in Michigan average about 369 students, which makes this school 25% bigger than average.
Grosse Pointe Public Schools enrolls 6,326 students, and its 12 schools include George Defer Elementary School.
Roughly 81% of students at George Defer Elementary School are White. The remaining students are 6% multiracial, 6% Black, 4% Hispanic, and 3% Asian. Among people living in Wayne County, the White share is about 49%. The diversity index for George Defer Elementary School is 34%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Teacher count: 27.3 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 16.9:1. The gap from the 15.8:1 average for elementary schools in Michigan is 1.0 students per teacher. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 12%. The 66% average for public schools in Wayne County is 54 points higher.
George Defer Elementary School earns an A on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 94% of Michigan public elementary schools.
In Michigan, George Defer Elementary School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 72.9% actual against a predicted 60.9%.
The school's county is Wayne County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $60,539, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 28%, and roughly 16% of residents are in poverty. George Defer Elementary School shares Wayne County with 572 other public schools.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Pierce Middle School, is less than a tenth of a mile. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. George Defer Elementary School places 2nd of 4 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Suburb: Large: in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
An 8% gain took enrollment from 427 in 2020-21 to 460 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 15.3:1 to 16.9:1.
This page is set up for the George Defer Elementary School community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Wayne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,772,259
Census ACS
Median income
$60,539
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
16%
Below federal line
Schools in county
573
259,786 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Grosse Pointe Public Schools
- Grosse Pointe South High SchoolHigh · 1,123 students
- Grosse Pointe North High SchoolHigh · 924 students
- Parcells Middle SchoolMiddle · 671 students
- Brownell Middle SchoolMiddle · 605 students
- Pierce Middle SchoolMiddle · 570 students
- John Monteith Elementary SchoolElementary · 456 students
Other schools in GROSSE POINTE PARK
- Pierce Middle SchoolMiddle · 570 students
Nearby schools
- Pierce Middle School0.1 mi · 570
- Detroit Merit Charter Academy0.5 mi · 719
- J E Clark Preparatory Academy0.8 mi · 125
- Lewis Maire Elementary School1.1 mi · 252
- Capstone Academy Charter SchoolRiverbend1.1 mi · 12
- Davis Aerospace Technical High School at Golightly1.2 mi · 96
Frequently asked questions
About George Defer Elementary SchoolHow many students attend George Defer Elementary School?
George Defer Elementary School enrolls approximately 460 students in grades KG-04.
Is George Defer Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
George Defer Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
How many teachers does George Defer Elementary School have?
George Defer Elementary School employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.9:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at George Defer Elementary School?
At George Defer Elementary School, the student body is approximately 81% White, 4% Hispanic, 6% Black, 3% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees George Defer Elementary School?
George Defer Elementary School is overseen by Grosse Pointe Public Schools in Wayne County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.