Most West Bloomfield Schools Rank in Top Half of State List

No school in the West Bloomfield, Walled Lake, Waterford, Farmington, Birmingham, or Bloomfield Hills public school districts landed on the Michigan Department of Education list of Persistently Lowest Achieving (PLA) Schools that was announced Friday. Most schools in the township ranked above the 50th percentile compared to other schools in Michigan.

Three West Bloomfield School District schools fared in the bottom half of the list — Orchard Lake Middle School (48th percentile), Ealy Elementary School (38th percentile), and Roosevelt Elementary School (21th percentile). Maple Elementary School in the Walled Lake Consolidated School District placed in the 43rd percentile.

The closest school that was placed on the PLA list was Pontiac High School.

Scotch Elementary School was the highest-achieving of West Bloomfield area schools (98th percentile, the highest in the WBSD), while Keith Elementary School was not far behind (96th percentile, third-highest in WLCSD). West Hills Middle School was in the 96th percentile.

The rankings are part of an annual list that factors students' performance on standardized tests in all five academic subjects, graduation rates, student improvement and other Michigan Department of Education guidelines, such as those that determine Adequate Yearly Progress.

Only public schools are included in the list. This is second year that the education department has published an overall "top to bottom" ranking with the required list of low achieving schools.

“This is important information for schools, parents, and communities to review,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Mike Flanagan. “It provides a real look at how our local schools are doing in educating their students.

“Some schools are doing well at preparing students. Too many others still are struggling. But we all can improve,” Flanagan added. “In order for Michigan to succeed in this competitive global economy, our schools need to step up their efforts – some, in a big way. I encourage communities to have honest discussions with their school leaders to embrace and support the changes needed to move forward.”

There are no consequences of the annual rankings, however, the education department suggests districts use the results as a diagnostic tool to determine where resources are needed.

Building Name (West Bloomfield School District)

Statewide
Percentile
Ranking

98

86

71

69

67

48

Building Name (Walled Lake Consolidated School District)

Statewide
Percentile
Ranking

96

87

65

43

Building Name (Bloomfield Hills Schools)

Statewide
Percentile
Ranking

96

95