The top reported proficiency rate is 9% in English language arts. The lowest is 5% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Roger Williams Middle
Roger Williams Middle is a regular public school serving grades six through eight on Providence's south side, part of the Providence Public School District. It sits on Thurbers Avenue in the 02905 zip code, a neighborhood where home values run below the Rhode Island benchmark but above the national figure. Rents in the area are modest for the region, and renting costs somewhat less per month than carrying a mortgage at current rates. The housing market here is more accessible than much of the state, which matters for families weighing where to live within the Providence district.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black enrollment and smaller shares of white, multiracial, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A very large proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic pressures many families in this neighborhood face. The school is large for a middle school, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across the three grades it serves. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those services.
On state assessments, Roger Williams posts proficiency rates that are low across every tested subject. In English language arts, a small fraction of students reached proficiency on the most recent RICAS. Math results were suppressed in one reporting view but appear at an even lower level in the school's trend data. Eighth-grade science on the NGSA showed similarly low proficiency. Participation rates were strong across all three subjects, meaning nearly all eligible students were tested, so the results reflect the full student body rather than a skewed subset. These numbers tell a parent that the academic program here is struggling to move students to grade-level mastery, and a parent may want to look into what intervention and support structures the school has in place. The data we received does not include staffing ratios, course access details, attendance figures, or discipline records, so the picture of school climate and resources is incomplete.
We also did not find program offerings listed for this school. Whether Roger Williams provides electives, arts, world languages, athletic programs, or advanced coursework beyond the standard curriculum is not visible in the available data. A family considering this school should ask directly what the daily academic and enrichment experience looks like.
Providence is a capital-city district with the complexity that brings. The district brief turned up no recent policy changes, curriculum overhauls, referenda, or tax decisions that cleared a lasting-impact threshold. Providence has been the subject of state-level attention to its schools for several years, but nothing in the brief pointed to a specific recent change a parent should weigh right now. The locale search referenced the I-195 redevelopment and downtown campus activity, but no usable community context came through in the data, so rather than guess at neighborhood specifics we note that gap.
Because Roger Williams is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report. There is also no comparison fact-set placing this school against others in the county, so we cannot position its proficiency results relative to nearby schools from the data provided. Civil rights data was not available either.
What the available evidence shows is a large, economically challenged middle school in a Providence neighborhood where housing remains relatively affordable for the region, serving a mostly Hispanic and Black student body, with state test results that indicate most students are not yet reaching grade-level benchmarks. For a family considering this school, the most productive step would be to visit and ask specifically about academic supports, available programs, and how the school serves English learners and students with disabilities.
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