The top reported proficiency rate is 54% in Science. The lowest is 44% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Davis Elementary
Davis Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in College Place, a small city in southeastern Washington that blends a university-town atmosphere with residential neighborhoods and commercial strips. The school sits within the College Place School District, which serves most of the city and draws a substantial share of its families from the community anchored by Walla Walla University, a Seventh-day Adventist liberal arts institution. That university shapes local culture and downtown patterns, with many businesses closing Friday evening through Saturday night.
The school enrolls a mid-sized student body for an elementary serving these grade levels. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student population is predominantly white alongside a sizable Hispanic cohort, with much smaller numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner supports was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those programs.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, proficiency rates varied across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, results ranged from roughly a third of students meeting the bar in third grade to just over half in fourth grade. Math proficiency followed a similar pattern, with fourth grade showing the highest rate and third grade the lowest. In science, fifth graders turned in a rate that sat a bit above half. While these are single-year results with no prior trend to compare against, the school’s combined performance across tested subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile relative to school districts across Walla Walla County, meaning it outperformed the typical district in its county.
The district that runs Davis Elementary has made several recent investments that directly affect this school. A replacement Educational Programs & Operations levy passed by voters in 2024, representing an ongoing local property-tax commitment that funds staffing beyond state allocations, special education, extracurriculars, technology, and arts and music. In 2023 the district adopted a new K-5 literacy curriculum grounded in the science of reading, which began classroom use in the 2023-2024 school year. And starting in 2022-2023, full-day kindergarten became the standard across the district at no added cost to families. These are lasting changes that shape the daily classroom experience at Davis.
College Place itself is compact, about three square miles, with a layout that keeps most destinations within a short drive. The downtown runs along College Avenue and is closely tied to the university. Home values and rents in the area are moderate relative to state benchmarks, and owner occupancy is at a modest rate. Population growth appears to have flattened in recent years after earlier steady expansion, and the city has invested in streetscape improvements like the College Avenue Rose Street project. The broader Walla Walla Valley supports a mix of employers including the university, retail in the highway business district, and a notable wine industry.
For a family considering Davis Elementary, the picture is of a mid-sized school in a small university town, serving a diverse and lower-income student body. Academic performance in the available testing year was above the county average, with some grade-level variation that may warrant a closer look. The district is actively investing in elementary literacy, full-day kindergarten, and program funding through a local levy. Families who want a community-anchored elementary in a setting shaped by a small liberal arts college will find that here, though those seeking detailed information on special education or English learner services may need to follow up directly with the school.
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