Kettle Falls Middle School, Kettle Falls WA

Original Research by School Decision on Kettle Falls Middle School

Kettle Falls Middle School serves grades five through eight in the small, rural town of Kettle Falls, Washington, a community relocated in the 1940s to avoid flooding from Grand Coulee Dam and historically tied to logging, agriculture, and the paper industry. The town retains a working-class, resource-oriented character and positions itself as a gateway to Lake Roosevelt for outdoor recreation. The school is part of the Kettle Falls School District, and the institution is a regular public school.

The school’s student body is predominantly white, and a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a school where a large portion of families face economic pressures, which can shape the kind of support a student body needs. The enrollment is moderate for a middle school spanning four grade levels, and while a breakdown by grade was part of the profile, comparable counts are available on the page for a reader who wants to see the distribution.

On the state’s standardized assessments, results vary notably by grade and subject. In math, proficiency rates climb considerably as students advance through the grades, with a smaller share of fifth graders meeting the bar and a much larger share of eighth graders doing so. A similar pattern appears in English language arts, where the share of students reaching proficiency in eighth grade is substantially larger than in fifth grade. Science results follow that same upward trajectory, with a modest share of fifth graders proficient and a notably larger share of eighth graders meeting the standard. Because only a single year of assessment data was available, there is no multi-year trend to examine, so it is not possible to say from the numbers alone whether these year-to-year gaps reflect genuine growth in a cohort, differences in how students enter the school, or other factors. A parent may want to ask the school about how they support students who arrive with lower proficiency in the earlier grades.

Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school below the midpoint relative to other districts in Stevens County. That county-level comparison is the relevant benchmark here; the results should be read knowing the school serves a high-poverty population in a rural setting.

No chronic absenteeism rate, discipline data, or staffing information was available for this school. No course access or program offerings, such as advanced coursework or electives, were reported in the data reviewed. For a middle school, those details would help a family understand the breadth of academic and enrichment options. Their absence means a reader should look to the district or contact the school directly for that picture.

The school is not a charter or magnet, and no Title I status was reported. No graduation rate applies because this is a middle school.

Housing values in the area are a meaningful consideration for a family moving here. The typical home value in the zip code is below the Washington state average and close to the national average, which reflects this rural corner of the state’s lower cost of housing compared to major metro areas. The town has experienced modest population growth over recent years, with no significant development projects publicly reported, suggesting a stable but slow-changing community. The district did not have any recent major parent-relevant changes to report.

Kettle Falls Middle School presents a picture of a rural school in a community with deep resource-industry roots and an outdoors-oriented identity. Its academic results show a pattern where older students perform more strongly on state tests, particularly in math and science, while earlier grades show more ground to cover. The combination of high economic need and proficiency results below the middle of county districts means a family moving to the area may want to have a conversation with the school about academic supports, particularly for students entering in the earlier middle school years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

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

English language arts

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 15 pts above state median

This schoolKettle Falls 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 4Lower-income42%Higher-income47%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income36%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income64%50 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income64%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income52%Higher-income77%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income24%Higher-income27%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income29%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income36%1 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income45%Higher-income64%19 pp gap