Columbia Middle School, Moses Lake WA

Original Research by School Decision on Columbia Middle School

Columbia Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders in the Moses Lake School District, a regular public school located on East Nelson Road in Moses Lake. The school sits in a community that blends residential neighborhoods with a significant industrial base – aerospace testing, polysilicon manufacturing, carbon fiber production, and electric vehicle battery plants have joined the area’s agricultural heritage. Moses Lake is auto-oriented, sprawling, and dependent on its two major highways, with civic and school facilities spread across separate campuses rather than clustered downtown.

State assessment results are available for the most recent school year. In math, proficiency rates across grades six, seven, and eight cluster in a range that roughly corresponds to the lower third of possible scores. English language arts performance is somewhat higher, with one grade reaching near the midpoint. Science results for eighth grade follow a similar pattern. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint among districts in Grant County. Because only a single year of data is available, readers cannot assess improvement or decline.

The student body is large for its grade band. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price meal eligibility. The composition is roughly evenly split between white students and Hispanic students, with small numbers of students who are Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, or of two or more races. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported; a parent may want to ask the school directly about the availability of special education and language support services.

The community context shapes what families experience. Moses Lake has seen steady population growth and major industrial expansion, including newly funded battery manufacturing plants. Housing values in the area are near the national median, and rents are relatively stable. The district has recently invested in capital construction, adding a new elementary school, which may affect neighborhood boundaries for families with younger children. At the high school level, the district operates both a comprehensive high school and Vanguard Academy, a project-based learning option. That choice gives families a distinct pedagogical pathway once students leave Columbia Middle School.

Program offerings, discipline records, attendance rates, and staffing ratios for Columbia Middle School were not available in the data provided. A family considering this school would likely want to follow up with the school or district office on those details, particularly the range of elective and enrichment courses available, as well as any support programs for students who need extra help. The school’s position above the county midpoint on overall proficiency is a relative strength within its immediate geographic context, but the absolute proficiency levels are modest, and a parent comparing it to schools in other parts of the state may find the academic numbers a soft spot worth investigating further.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 58% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 28% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 38% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 38% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 40% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 31% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median

This schoolMoses Lake 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-income23%Higher-income53%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income61%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income26%Higher-income64%38 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income64%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income41%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income24%Higher-income53%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income25%Higher-income63%37 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income50%22 pp gap