Copyright M Live Michigan
Michigan K-12 schools are serving more students learning English as a second language than at any point in the last two decades, but recent data tracking their progress showed those educating the highest numbers are in just a few areas of the state. And in five cases, English learners make up the majority of schools student population. The Michigan Department of Education released the data tracking English-language learners’ improvement as of the 2024-25 school year earlier this month. According to the numbers, more than 76,800 ELL students showed an average growth percentile of around 50% in an annual test measuring proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing — a rate that remained consistent over the previous five years. Five years ago, roughly 25,000 fewer ELL students were tested. The summative assessment used is WIDA ACCESS, and growth is measured when two or more consecutive tests are taken. Results of the test are typically available for schools by July, when educators can determine whether a student still needs support. Students can exit the program when they achieve a certain proficiency score, such as 4.8. Because of how progress is tracked, school enrollment numbers categorizing students as English-language learners are typically higher than the total used in growth data. Overall, there were 104,200 English-language learners in Michigan schools last year, making up 7.3% of the total student population. That’s an increase from 84,640 a decade ago when English learners were 5.46% of all students. The rise comes amid a renewed scrutiny of ELL support programs under President Donald Trump. The president signaled pulling back on support earlier this year, declaring English as the official language in the U.S., terminating federal workers who supported millions of English-learning students and seeking to eliminate hundreds of millions in federal funds related to those services in his own budget proposal. Federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education first implemented in 2015 that helped schools teach students learning English as a second language was also reportedly rescinded as of late August. Meanwhile, Michigan is seeing new investment in resources to support English-learner programs with a 25% bump in financing from state lawmakers for bilingual education resources in 2026. The state has also introduced new requirements for schools educating this population, including minimum instructional time. The following are Michigan schools and districts with the top 25 highest number of WIDA-assessed English-learner students. Also included are districts’ average student growth percentile, total number of ELL students and what percentage ELL students make up of the student population. 25. Godfrey-Lee Public Schools County: Kent English-learners tracked: 666 Mean growth percentile: 53.9% English-learners total: 834 Percentage of all students: 50.2% 24. Plymouth-Canton Community Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 725 Mean growth percentile: 55.1% English-learners total: 1,110 Percentage of all students: 6.9% 23. Wyoming Public Schools County: Kent English-learners tracked: 798 Mean growth percentile: 45.4% English-learners total: 1,031 Percentage of all students: 26.9% 22. West Ottawa Public Schools County: Ottawa English-learners tracked: 800 Mean growth percentile: 49.1% English-learners total: 1,090 Percentage of all students: 16.1% 21. Lincoln Park Public Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 810 Mean growth percentile: 49.4% English-learners total: 987 Percentage of all students: 20% 20. Star International Academy County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 853 Mean growth percentile: 47.2% English-learners total: 1,059 Percentage of all students: 50.5% 19. Farmington Public Schools County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 904 Mean growth percentile: 57.5% English-learners total: 1,226 Percentage of all students: 13.4% 18. Walled Lake Consolidated Schools County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 909 Mean growth percentile: 57.4% English-learners total: 1,212 Percentage of all students: 10.2% 17. Rochester Community Schools County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 958 Mean growth percentile: 63.2% English-learners total: 1,334 Percentage of all students: 8.9% 16. Pontiac City School District County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 1,018 Mean growth percentile: 46.7% English-learners total: 1,406 Percentage of all students: 36.2% 15. Novi Community Schools County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 1,031 Mean growth percentile: 69.1% English-learners total: 1,473 Percentage of all students: 21.7% 14. Kalamazoo Public Schools County: Kalamazoo English-learners tracked: 1,064 Mean growth percentile: 52.1% English-learners total: 1,461 Percentage of all students: 11.9% 13. Chippewa Valley Schools County: Macomb English-learners tracked: 1,123 Mean growth percentile: 55.5% English-learners total: 1,354 Percentage of all students: 9.5% 12. Ann Arbor Public Schools County: Washtenaw English-learners tracked: 1,202 Mean growth percentile: 55% English-learners total: 1,783 Percentage of all students: 10.6% 11. Lansing Public Schools County: Ingham English-learners tracked: 1,263 Mean growth percentile: 48.4% English-learners total: 1,676 Percentage of all students: 16.8% 10. Cesar Chavez Academy County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 1,298 Mean growth percentile: 49.8% English-learners total: 1,519 Percentage of all students: 66.2% 9. Hamtramck Public Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 1,325 Mean growth percentile: 47.2% English-learners total: 1,847 Percentage of all students: 64.2% 8. Melvindale-Northern Allen Park Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 1,332 Mean growth percentile: 46.3% English-learners total: 1,659 Percentage of all students: 55.4% 7. Troy School District County: Oakland English-learners tracked: 1,427 Mean growth percentile: 57.5% English-learners total: 1,981 Percentage of all students: 16.1% 6. Kentwood Public Schools County: Kent English-learners tracked: 1,711 Mean growth percentile: 50% English-learners total: 2,277 Percentage of all students: 23.6% 5. Warren Consolidated Schools County: Macomb English-learners tracked: 2,720 Mean growth percentile: 50.9% English-learners total: 3,445 Percentage of all students: 27.4% 4. Grand Rapids Public Schools County: Kent English-learners tracked: 2,946 Mean growth percentile: 49.9% English-learners total: 3,759 Percentage of all students: 27.5% 3. Utica Community Schools County: Macomb English-learners tracked: 3,030 Mean growth percentile: 47.5% English-learners total: 3,784 Percentage of all students: 14.9% 2. Detroit Public Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 4,890 Mean growth percentile: 47.2% English-learners total: 7,403 Percentage of all students: 15.1% 1. Dearborn Public Schools County: Wayne English-learners tracked: 6,621 Mean growth percentile: 48.9% English-learners total: 8,587 Percentage of all students: 44.5%
