Romulus schools’ NWEA results show elementary gains, stagnant middle‑school proficiency

Romulus Community Schools presented spring NWEA MAP results to the Board of Education on June 9, showing growth at the elementary level but little to no improvement at the district’s middle schools.

At a regularly scheduled meeting, Janelle Edwards, director of Teaching, Learning and Professional Development, and Scott Rorick, a member of the TLP team, presented district‑level proficiency and growth data. Edwards said testing “just ended a couple weeks ago,” and cautioned there has been limited time for deep analysis of the results.

The presentation reported that district math grade‑level proficiency rose from 24% in the fall term to 36% in the spring. Elementary buildings showed “pretty good growth” between fall and spring, while the middle school remained flat: middle‑school math proficiency was 12% at the start of the year and 12% at the end. High school math moved from 26% to 27%. For reading, the district ended the year with 33% of students at grade level; the middle school stayed at 21% from fall to spring, while the high school increased from 29% to 33%.

Rorick explained growth‑target measures as well: most elementary schools were above the 50% line for students meeting their NWEA growth targets (many in the 70s–80s), while middle and high schools were below 50%. Districtwide, 63% of students met math growth targets and roughly 53% met reading growth targets from fall to spring.

Board members and district leaders discussed next steps. Edwards said root cause analysis and strengthened professional learning communities (PLCs) are planned: “root cause analysis had been an integral part” of planning, and the district will offer PLC protocol training to elementary and middle school department heads and principals. Rorick noted the middle and high school will fully implement the Big Ideas mathematics curriculum next year and the high school will adopt a new science curriculum; RVLC (the virtual learning center) will pilot a new virtual learning platform.

Superintendent Dr. Eve Edmondson framed the result as a call to focus supports at the secondary level and said the district will bring more customized professional development to middle‑school teachers to align instruction and monitoring. Edmondson emphasized accountability and monitoring classroom implementation in future walkthroughs and TLP restructuring.

The presentation did not include a formal board action; it was a data presentation followed by questions and staff commitments to further analysis and targeted supports for middle school instruction.