Fowlerville Students Show Strong Academic Growth, Reach New M-STEP High
FOWLERVILLE, MI — Fowlerville Community Schools students continued to make strong academic progress in 2025–26, improving in 19 of 24 grade and subject results on Michigan’s state assessments compared with the previous year.
The latest results also reflect a broader, multi-year trend. Across Grades 3–7 English language arts and mathematics, Fowlerville reached its highest combined average in the district’s 11 tested years of M-STEP results.
“This is progress our entire school community should be proud of,” said Superintendent Matt Stuard. “Our students are learning and growing, and we are seeing some of the strongest results Fowlerville has produced in years. That reflects a tremendous amount of work by our students and by the teachers, support staff, administrators and families who support them every day. We also know we are not done. There is more work to do, but the direction we are heading is clear and the momentum is encouraging.”
A Multi-Year Story of Growth
The district’s Grades 3–7 English language arts and math results provide one of the clearest pictures of that progress.
From 2022–23 to 2025–26, Fowlerville’s combined average across English language arts and mathematics in Grades 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 — ten grade and subject measures in all — increased by 7.24 percentage points, resulting in the highest combined result in Fowlerville’s M-STEP history.
Nine of the ten Grades 3–7 English language arts and math results have improved since 2022–23, and all ten are higher than they were in 2021–22.
The progress is also evident when Fowlerville’s results are compared with others. In 2025–26, Fowlerville students performed above the Michigan proficiency rate in nine of the ten Grades 3–7 English language arts and math measures. Fowlerville’s combined average across those measures was 4.19 percentage points above the state average.
The district has also gained significant ground among a group of 14 Michigan school districts with similar enrollment and free and reduced-price lunch percentages. From 2022–23 to 2025–26, Fowlerville recorded the second-largest improvement among those districts. Fowlerville moved from 12th to ninth in the group, while the difference between Fowlerville and the average of the other 13 districts narrowed from 8.64 percentage points to just 1.14 points.
“That comparison is important because it gives us another way to understand the progress our students are making,” Stuard said. “Three years ago, there was a significant gap between Fowlerville and similar districts. That gap has narrowed substantially. We still have ground to cover, but our students have made real progress, and that deserves to be recognized.”
Among Fowlerville’s Strongest Results
The 2025–26 results include several individual and historical highlights:
• Third-grade math: Proficiency increased for the third consecutive year, from 40.9% in 2024 to 51.0% in 2025 and 56.5% in 2026.
• Seventh-grade English language arts: Proficiency increased from 18.1% in 2025 to 36.2% in 2026.
• Seventh-grade math: Proficiency increased from 22.8% in 2025 to 36.2% in 2026.
• Grade 5 science and Grade 8 social studies: Both posted the highest Fowlerville results within the current versions of those state assessments.
• Across the district’s comparable assessment histories, 10 of 16 current results rank in the top third of Fowlerville’s historical results, including two records and five additional results that rank second or third.
The improvement has not come from one program or one initiative. Over the past several years, Fowlerville has taken a comprehensive approach focused on helping every child learn, grow and receive additional support when needed.
That work has included strengthening curriculum and classroom instruction; expanding teacher training, coaching and professional learning; providing dedicated intervention time during the school day; adding academic interventionists and other student supports; using assessment information more consistently to understand what students know and where they need additional help; and providing targeted summer learning opportunities.
“We have been very intentional about strengthening what happens in the classroom while also building better ways to recognize when a child needs additional help,” Stuard said. “Our teachers are working together, looking closely at student needs and adjusting instruction. Our interventionists, support staff and administrators are working alongside them. These results don’t belong to one person or one program. They represent sustained work across the district and a partnership among our schools, families and community.”
State assessments are one measure Fowlerville Community Schools uses to understand student learning. The district also reviews classroom performance, local assessments, student growth information and other measures to help teachers understand individual student needs and plan instruction and support.
The district will continue reviewing the 2025–26 results at the district, school, grade and student levels and using that information to guide its next steps.
“Ultimately, this work is about much more than a test score,” Stuard said. “We want every child who comes through Fowlerville Community Schools to build the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to be successful in school and prepared for what comes next. Whether their path leads to college, a career, the skilled trades, military service, entrepreneurship or something else, our responsibility is to provide opportunities and prepare them for real life.”
According to Stuard, “We should celebrate how far our students have come and then keep going. That is what continuous improvement looks like.”
Fowlerville Community Schools is committed to providing every student with a quality educational experience in a safe, orderly, healthy and nurturing environment. The district’s principles are educational excellence, effective leadership, personal integrity, mutual respect and continuous improvement through staff, student and community involvement.
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