Liberty Jr High & Elementary, Spangle WA

Original Research by School Decision on Liberty Jr High & Elementary

Liberty Jr High & Elementary is the sole public school in the tiny, unincorporated community of Spangle, Washington, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is a regular public school within the Liberty School District, a consolidated district that also draws students from the surrounding farming communities of Plaza, Fairfield, Mount Hope, Latah, and Waverly. Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report; students from this area move on to Liberty High School for ninth through twelfth grades.

Academically, state testing data from the 2024-25 school year shows a pattern where proficiency rates in both math and English language arts vary noticeably by grade level. The strongest performance appears in the early grades, particularly in third grade, where a substantial majority of students met the state bar in both subjects. By the upper elementary and middle school grades, the picture becomes more mixed, with some grade levels showing weaker results. In science, tested in fifth and eighth grades, the school’s proficiency rate is solid, with a stronger showing at the eighth-grade level. When you look at the school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects, it places in the top quartile relative to other districts in Spokane County, a mark of strong comparative performance among its regional peers.

The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Hispanic students and a modest number of students identifying as two or more races. A substantial portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of economic need that families may want to consider. The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side, which is typical for a rural consolidated school, and the setting is deeply agricultural; Spangle itself is a very compact town surrounded by the rolling Palouse hills, with a flat population trend and a limited commercial center. Housing values in the ZIP code area are above the national median, and the affordability context suggests that buying may be a stretch for some households compared to renting.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there are no offerings like Advanced Placement courses or career and technical education pathways to evaluate here. Information on special education identification rates and English learner counts was not available in the data provided. The school’s website was not supplied, so a parent may want to contact the school directly to learn about elective offerings, after-school activities, and student support services. The district itself appears to be in a period of stability, with no major recently reported changes or controversies that would shape the school’s direction.

Liberty Jr High & Elementary is best understood as a small, rural school that delivers solid early-grade instruction and sits in a tight-knit agricultural community. The dip in proficiency at some middle-grade levels gives a family investigating the school something to ask about, but the school’s overall standing alongside other Spokane County districts is a clear point of strength. The context here is one of scarce amenities and a quiet, low-growth town, which will appeal to families seeking a slower pace and a close connection to the land, rather than those looking for urban breadth or rapid development.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 69%

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 64%

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

This schoolLiberty 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-income67%Higher-income71%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income28%Higher-income73%45 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income65%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income72%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income65%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income60%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income58%Higher-income77%18 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income77%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income52%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income52%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income58%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income56%9 pp gap