The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Columbia Middle School
Columbia Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders from Burbank, a low-density, semi-rural census-designated place in Walla Walla County where the Snake River meets the Columbia. The community sits just east of Pasco and Kennewick, putting it within the Tri-Cities urban area even though the school is in a separate district from those cities. Burbank has been growing slowly but steadily in recent years, and its median household income sits at a level that makes the school's enrollment profile unsurprising. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that reflects the economic mix of the community.
The school is relatively small for a middle school, serving just over a hundred and eighty students across three grades, and the student body is roughly evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. The district, named Columbia (Walla Walla) School District, has not seen major parent-facing changes over the last several years, so families are not navigating recent curriculum overhauls or significant shifts in policy.
State test results for the 2024-25 school year give a clear picture of where the school stands academically. On the English language arts assessment, the share of students meeting proficiency varied considerably by grade. The seventh grade performed notably better, with about half of students scoring proficient. Sixth and eighth grades were lower, with less than a quarter of students reaching that mark. In math, the pattern was similar but lower overall. Seventh graders again came in strongest, while sixth and eighth graders each had a small share of students hitting proficiency. On the science assessment, given only in eighth grade, roughly a quarter of students met the bar. When combined into a single index across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency level places it in the bottom quarter relative to other districts in Walla Walla County. The county comparison includes six other districts, and the range among them shows that Columbia Middle School's results sit below the midpoint.
Because the state's testing data for this school covers only the most recent year, there is no multi-year trend to examine. A parent who wants to know whether performance has been moving up or down over time will need to ask the school or district for earlier results. The same applies to chronic absenteeism, which is a meaningful metric for middle-grade engagement; this data was not available for the school. Graduation rate data does not apply since the school only serves middle grades.
The school is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation, and it operates within a district that appears to have been stable in recent years. Burbank itself offers a quiet, car-dependent residential setting with few of the civic amenities or commercial anchors that larger towns provide; families who choose this school are likely drawn to the smaller scale of the community and the manageable size of the middle school. The academic picture, with proficiency levels that are lower than those of most neighboring districts in the county, is something families may want to discuss directly with the school to understand what support structures are in place, particularly in math and science.
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