Kalama Middle School, Kalama WA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Kalama Middle School

Kalama Middle School serves grades six through eight in a compact riverfront town where the Port of Kalama’s maritime terminal, rail yards, and grain elevators anchor the local economy. The school is part of the Kalama School District, a small system that did not publicly report any recent referendums, curriculum changes, or major facility projects in available records. The town itself sits on a narrow floodplain along the Columbia River, with Interstate 5 dividing the industrial waterfront from the downtown business district and residential neighborhoods climbing the hills to the east. Housing values in the area are moderate relative to the state as a whole.

The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority and very small shares of multiracial and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. About two-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students receiving special education services or English learner support were not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about supports available for those populations.

On the state’s standardized assessments, Kalama Middle School’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls below the midpoint among districts in Cowlitz County. That gap is driven largely by performance in the upper grades. In sixth grade, roughly two-fifths of students met the bar in both math and English language arts, a relatively stronger showing. By seventh grade, about three in ten students were proficient in math and about four in ten in ELA. By eighth grade, roughly one-fifth of students reached the math standard, just over a quarter met the ELA standard, and about three in ten were proficient in science. The pattern of declining proficiency from sixth to eighth grade is worth noting, though the school has only a single year of assessment data available, so it is not possible to determine whether this is a consistent trend or a one-year snapshot.

The school is a regular public school; it is not a charter or magnet. Its grade band means it has no graduation rate to report, and information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course offerings was not available in the provided data. Parents looking for a fuller picture of academic pathways, elective choices, and student supports would need to reach out to the school directly or visit its website.

Kalama is a place where industrial and small-town life mix. The Port of Kalama handles a very high volume of dry bulk cargo, and TEMCO LLC’s grain terminal sends ships to Asia and elsewhere. The town’s compact geography—hemmed in by the river and hills—keeps schools, City Hall, and the business district close together. The riverfront offers recreational access, and antique shops line the downtown corridor. The community has seen population growth over time, and ongoing port infrastructure work suggests continued economic activity.

For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small middle school in a working river town with academic performance that is below the county average, particularly in the upper grades. The school’s sixth-grade results are its strongest area, while eighth-grade scores, including science, indicate room for improvement. Without detailed program information or data on student support services, a parent should investigate what the school offers in terms of interventions, enrichment, and pathways to high school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolKalama 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 5Lower-income32%Higher-income40%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income55%20 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income23%Higher-income46%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income29%Higher-income28%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income22%Higher-income30%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income46%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income38%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income23%4 pp gap