Gess Elementary, Chewelah WA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Gess Elementary

Gess Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Chewelah, a small rural town in Stevens County. The school is part of the Chewelah School District and operates as a regular public school. It is not a charter school.

The student body is predominantly white, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The school’s enrollment is moderate for a K-6 building, with class sizes that shift across grades. Special population data, such as counts of students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner designations, was not available in the reporting we saw, and a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.

On the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments, proficiency rates vary noticeably by grade and subject. In math, one grade posted a rate that was a solid majority proficient, while three other tested grades showed a minority of students meeting that bar. The overall picture across all math grades was below the midpoint of the state average. In English language arts, performance was uneven: the earliest tested grade had a minority of students proficient, but by the upper elementary grades, a slight majority of students were meeting the standard. The school’s strongest result came in fifth-grade science, where a majority of students tested as proficient. The single-year proficiency index, which averages all tested subjects and grades, places Gess above the midpoint when compared to other districts in Stevens County. Because only one year of trend data was available, we cannot say whether these results represent an improvement or decline.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Civil rights and discipline data, chronic absenteeism rates, and course access information were all absent in the data we had. A parent should check with the school for a fuller picture of school climate and student supports.

Chewelah itself is a community with a distinctive history. Once a company town built around the world’s largest magnesite mine, it diversified after that plant closed. Today the local economy rests on agriculture, a ski resort, a golf course, and a casino. The town has a compact downtown with a few civic and cultural destinations, including a museum and a Center for the Arts. In recent years, it was designated one of Washington’s first Creative Districts, signaling an active arts community. Street life is limited by the low density of a small rural town. No public transit system was identified in the search. The population is modest and appears to be aging, with limited growth pressure. The housing market in the area carries a price-to-income ratio that is high by national historical standards, which may be a factor for families moving into the district.

The school district itself showed no major parent-relevant changes in the reporting we found. A parent should reach out to the district to learn about any recent program shifts or strategic priorities.

For a family considering Gess Elementary, the school offers a general education setting in a small-town environment. The standout academic result was in science for a single grade. In math and reading, the picture is mixed, with some grades performing better than others. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly around how the school addresses math instruction in grades where proficiency was lower. The school’s size is manageable, and the surrounding community provides modest amenities and outdoor recreation access without the pace or options of a larger city.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 351%

School 51% · District 50% · ▲ 1 pts above district

even with state median

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 31% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 26% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 50% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 54% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 56% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

This schoolChewelah 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-income28%Higher-income53%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income43%Higher-income70%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income73%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income74%35 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income48%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income59%38 pp gap