Richmond Middle School, Richmond MI

Original Research by School Decision on Richmond Middle School

Richmond Middle School sits in a small, compact city that straddles the Macomb and St. Clair county line, serving students in grades four through eight as part of Richmond Community Schools. The school sits along Division Road, close to the Main Street corridor that runs through town. Richmond describes itself as a growing community, and publicly reported census data shows steady population increases over recent decades. The city has a pedestrian-friendly downtown with retail and services, a comprehensive sidewalk system, and the Macomb Orchard Trail, a multi-use path that begins here and connects to a regional trail network. Recreational facilities sit adjacent to school buildings, and the annual Richmond Good Old Days Festival anchors civic life at Beebe Street Memorial Park. The built environment is small-town in character, with schools, parks, and civic functions in close proximity rather than on separated campuses.

The school enrolls a moderate number of students for its grade band, with roughly even distribution across the five grades it serves. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic presence and very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here.

On state assessments, Richmond Middle School presents a mixed academic picture that varies considerably by subject and grade level. In English language arts, the school shows some genuine bright spots. Sixth-grade ELA proficiency reaches a level where roughly half of tested students meet or exceed standards, and eighth-grade ELA, measured through the PSAT, shows a strong majority of students reaching proficiency. Fourth and fifth-grade ELA results land in the mid-range, while seventh grade dips somewhat. The reading and writing pathway through the middle grades appears to be a relative strength of the school.

Mathematics tells a different story. Fourth-grade math starts strong, with about half of students proficient, but fifth grade drops off sharply. Sixth grade recovers somewhat, seventh grade dips again, and eighth-grade math proficiency falls to a notably low level on the PSAT. This decline through the upper grades is something a parent may want to look into further with the school, particularly if a student is preparing for the transition to high school coursework. Science proficiency is moderate across the two tested grades, and social studies shows an interesting pattern where fifth-grade proficiency is quite low but eighth-grade proficiency is solid.

When compared to districts across Macomb County, Richmond Middle School's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint, meaning the school is outperforming a fair share of its county peers despite the grade-level variation within its own walls. Because the school serves only through eighth grade, graduation rate data does not apply, and chronic absenteeism figures were not reported.

The housing market in the Richmond area offers a somewhat different picture from what families might expect in the broader Detroit metropolitan region. Home values in the school's zip code sit above the statewide average but remain below national levels, and the price-to-income ratio suggests that buying a home here is within reach for many families relative to other communities, though current mortgage rates add pressure to monthly costs. The city offers housing options across various price ranges, according to its own official descriptions, and the compact footprint means residential areas are close to schools and downtown.

Richmond Community Schools placed a bond proposal on the ballot to fund building expansions and facility improvements addressing capacity needs across the district's shared campus. A growing city with steady population increases may be putting pressure on school facilities, and the district has responded by seeking voter support for physical expansion. This is publicly reported information, and families considering the area may want to follow the outcome of that vote and what it means for classroom space and school conditions.

For a family weighing Richmond Middle School, the academic read is one of real strengths in literacy alongside clear challenges in mathematics, particularly in the upper grades. The school sits in a small, walkable, growing community with affordable housing relative to the region and a compact layout that keeps civic life and schooling close together. The peer environment is relatively homogeneous in racial and economic terms, and the school operates as a traditional public middle school without charter or magnet designations.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 6 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolRichmond Community Schools, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income46%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income34%Higher-income48%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income59%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income43%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income69%Higher-income68%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income57%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income18%Higher-income29%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income49%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income37%15 pp gap