The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Albert Schweitzer Elementary School
Albert Schweitzer Elementary sits on Treadwell Street in Westland, a predominantly residential suburb about eighteen miles west of downtown Detroit. The school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Wayne-Westland Community School District, the system that covers both Westland and the neighboring city of Wayne. Enrollment runs in the low four hundreds, with a fairly even distribution across the grade levels.
The student body is majority white, with a substantial Black population and smaller Hispanic and multiracial groups. A clear majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the working-class character of much of the surrounding community. Westland grew as a bedroom community for Detroit-area factory workers, with post-WWII subdivisions like Norwayne built for returning soldiers, and that residential heritage still shapes the city today. The built environment is car-dependent, organized around single-family subdivisions and strip commercial corridors rather than a walkable grid. There is no traditional downtown. Commercial life centers on the Westland Shopping Center mall and surrounding retail. Hines Park runs through the northern part of the city and offers bike paths and wildlife corridors, and the city is known for an abundance of neighborhood parks.
On state assessments, the most recent M-STEP results paint a sobering picture. Math proficiency is low across all three tested grades, with third grade showing the strongest result and fourth grade particularly far behind. English language arts proficiency is somewhat higher than math but still modest, with roughly a quarter of third graders reaching proficiency and smaller shares in fourth and fifth grades. Science proficiency for fifth graders sits in the same low range as ELA. Social studies results for fifth grade were reported in the lowest possible band. Taken together, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts across Wayne County. These are results a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking what instructional supports and interventions are in place and how the building plans to move proficiency upward.
Some data that would help round out the picture is absent. The school does not report an IEP rate or an English learner rate, so we cannot characterize the special education or language-learning population. Chronic absenteeism figures were not available. Participation rates for the state tests are missing as well, and no multi-year trend data was provided, so there is no way to tell from the available data whether these proficiency levels represent a decline, a plateau, or something else. The school has no graduation rate, which is expected because it serves only elementary grades.
The housing market around the school is relatively accessible. Home values in the school's zip code sit well below both the state and national benchmarks, and rents are modest. The broader Wayne County market has seen listing inventory grow and median listing prices ease slightly, with homes spending a moderate time on the market. The price-to-income ratio suggests that ownership is within reach for many area households, though mortgage costs run above rents for comparable properties. A family weighing relocation should know that Westland's population has been gradually declining. The city's most visible development initiative is the planned redevelopment of the former Eloise psychiatric hospital site into a commercial center and hotel, a project that has been discussed for several years but has yet to reshape the local landscape.
At the district level, voters approved a bond proposal in 2021 that directs funds toward instructional technology, building renovations, security improvements, athletic facility upgrades, buses, and site improvements across Wayne-Westland schools. Those investments are working their way through the district's facilities and could affect the physical learning environment at Schweitzer in the coming years, though the scope of building-specific work is not detailed in the available data.
Albert Schweitzer is a small, neighborhood elementary school in an established suburban community with affordable housing and park access. Its academic results, as measured by state tests, are low across subjects and grades, and the school sits near the bottom of its county cohort on proficiency. Families considering this school should ask directly about the academic plan, available interventions, and how the district's bond-funded improvements will reach this building.
See more original research from School Decision →