Cashmere Middle School, Cashmere WA

Original Research by School Decision on Cashmere Middle School

Cashmere Middle School serves students in grades five through eight and is part of the Cashmere School District, located in the small city of Cashmere in Chelan County. The town sits along the Wenatchee River, is surrounded by working orchards and fruit-processing facilities, and is home to Liberty Orchards and Cashmere Valley Bank. Much of the population commutes elsewhere for work, and the area has seen steady growth, with development pressing against the agricultural heritage. The district recently passed a capital projects bond after several prior attempts failed, so facility improvements are on the horizon.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. A substantial share of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving a sense of the economic mix of the community. The student body is predominantly white, with a significant Hispanic or Latino population, and small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic groups. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available in the reporting used here, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures.

Academically, the picture is mixed and worth looking at grade by grade. On the state assessments for English language arts, most grade levels show a majority of students meeting or exceeding standards. The strongest result is in sixth grade, where a large share of students scored proficient. Fifth grade is the softest spot, with about half of students reaching that bar, while seventh and eighth grades fall between those two points. In math, the pattern is more uneven. Sixth graders performed well, with a sizable majority meeting the standard. Seventh graders also did solidly. But in fifth and eighth grade, only about half of students reached proficiency, and those two grades represent a meaningful dip. On the science assessment, given in grades five and eight, both grade levels showed a solid majority of students proficient, though not at the level of the strongest English results.

Across all subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Chelan County. That is a strong relative position. Still, the variation within the school matters, and the fifth-grade and eighth-grade math results in particular are areas where a parent may want to understand what support is in place.

The school serves only grades five through eight, so there is no graduation rate to report here. That is a function of the grade band, not a missing data point.

Cashmere is a compact town, and the school is likely close to the center of things. The downtown area contains the 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial, a museum, a seasonal city pool, and a small main street. Outdoor recreation is a draw, with river rafting, mountain biking, and climbing nearby. The district has recently renewed an operations levy that funds programs beyond what the state covers, which can affect the breadth of offerings at the school, though specific program details for the middle school were not part of the data provided. A parent interested in electives, music, athletics, or other enrichment should check with the school directly to see what is available.

Cashmere Middle School presents as a generally strong academic option within its county, with some clear highs and a couple of grades where performance dips. The community is small, residential, and growing, with a mix of agricultural roots and commuter life. The school’s size is moderate for a four-grade middle school, and the economic diversity of the student body is notable. For a family considering this school, the grade-level variation in math is the main thing to investigate further.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 765%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▲ 15 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 678%

School 78% · District 78%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 70%

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

Science

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 61%

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

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 58%

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

This schoolCASHMERE SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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-income32%Higher-income68%36 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income64%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income72%Higher-income83%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income62%Higher-income84%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income59%Higher-income83%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income54%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income58%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income63%Higher-income75%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income55%Higher-income73%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income64%27 pp gap