Summit School, Spokane Valley WA

Original Research by School Decision on Summit School

Summit School is a regular public elementary and middle school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Spokane Valley, Washington. It belongs to the Central Valley School District, one of several districts that serve this sprawling suburban city east of Spokane. For a family considering the school, the core question is what academic foundation a child would receive here through the end of middle school, since the school does not extend into high school.

On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Summit School posted proficiency rates that place the school’s overall performance in the top quartile relative to districts in Spokane County. That is a strong showing. In English language arts, the pattern is consistent: across grades three through eight, the share of students meeting the state standard hovers in a solid range, with fifth grade standing out as a particularly high point. Science results are also encouraging, especially in fifth grade where the proficiency rate is notably high. Eighth-grade science, while lower than fifth, still reflects a solid majority of students meeting the standard.

The math picture is more uneven. In the early grades, third through fifth, proficiency rates are robust, with each of those grades showing a clear majority of students at standard. Around sixth grade, the rate drops to a level where fewer than half of students meet the bar. Seventh grade rebounds to a level comparable to the lower grades, but eighth grade again shows a dip, with just over a third proficient. A parent whose child is entering middle school may want to ask the school how it supports math learning in the later grades and whether there are intervention or enrichment options that address that pattern.

Summit School is a small campus, with a student body that is predominantly white and includes a modest share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That economic diversity is present but not overwhelming. The school serves a single neighborhood or attendance zone within Central Valley School District rather than drawing from across the city.

Spokane Valley itself is a large, auto-oriented suburb with a mix of residential tracts, retail corridors, and industrial zones. It has no traditional downtown; civic life is spread among several nodes such as the Spokane Valley Mall, CenterPlace Regional Event Center, and Avista Stadium. The city was formed by consolidating several unincorporated communities and continues to grow. Housing values and rents in the area sit below the Washington state benchmark, making it a more affordable entry point into the region’s real estate market than many closer-in areas. Public transit is available through Spokane Transit Authority, but the built environment is designed around driving.

The Central Valley School District, which operates 32 schools, passed a replacement Educational Programs and Operations levy that covers maintenance and operational costs but does not fund new construction. That levy shapes the district’s local funding base. The district’s general fund budget is substantial, reflecting the scale of its operations across a large geographic area.

Because Summit School ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Families will need to consider which high school their child would feed into and what that school offers in terms of advanced coursework, career pathways, and extracurriculars. The district runs multiple high schools, so the specific path depends on attendance boundaries.

Overall, Summit School delivers a strong academic foundation in literacy and a solid science program. The math trajectory shows clear strength in the elementary years but a softer middle school experience that warrants a closer look. For a family seeking a K-8 setting in an affordable, growing suburb within commuting distance of Spokane, this school offers a consistent record of performance that is above the county median.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 364%

School 64% · District 32% · ▲ 32 pts above district

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 58% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 40% · ▲ 21 pts above district

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

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 44% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 41% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 26% · ▲ 36 pts above district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 31% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 61% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 53% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 56% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 58% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 59% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 49% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

This schoolCentral Valley 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 3Lower-income67%Higher-income60%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income79%Higher-income76%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income50%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income31%Higher-income77%46 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income63%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income64%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income46%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income64%18 pp gap