The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Math. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rowena Chess Elementary
Rowena Chess Elementary is a regular public school in Pasco serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Pasco School District, the same district that opened a new comprehensive high school in West Pasco for the 2025-26 school year and has plans for additional schools to keep up with the city’s rapid growth. The school sits in a city that is among the fastest-growing in Washington, driven by a mix of agricultural industry, food processing, and new residential development concentrated on the west side.
The student body at Rowena Chess is large for an elementary school but still within the range of a neighborhood campus. The vast majority of students come from Hispanic backgrounds, with a much smaller share identifying as white and very small numbers from other racial or ethnic groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context. Data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the reporting we reviewed, so a parent looking for that information would want to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, the school’s results are low. In the most recent testing year, the proficiency rate across all tested subjects and grades combined placed Rowena Chess in the bottom quartile among districts in Franklin County. The only reported grade-level rates show that in third-grade math about one in five students scored proficient, while in fourth-grade English language arts the rate was lower, and in fifth-grade English language arts and science the rates were lower still. Several grade-level results were suppressed, often because the number of students tested was too small to report publicly, but the available data paints a clear picture of a school where meeting grade-level benchmarks is the exception rather than the norm. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to examine here.
The school is located in Pasco, a city that has undergone dramatic change in recent years. Historically a railroad and agricultural center, Pasco has seen large-scale residential and commercial development on its west side, with new housing tracts and shopping centers. The housing market in the zip code that includes Rowena Chess shows home values that are below both the state and national averages, and rents that are somewhat more affordable relative to income than the national picture. The broader Tri-Cities economy is anchored by employers in agriculture, food processing, the Hanford nuclear site, and the BNSF Railway yard. The city’s downtown retains some civic anchors like a farmers market and the Sacagawea Heritage Trail, but the overall built environment is car-oriented and sprawling.
For families considering Rowena Chess, the district context matters. The Pasco School District passed a significant bond measure in early 2023 that funded a third comprehensive high school, which opened recently, and purchased land for a future elementary or middle school on the west side. A new career and college center is also planned. These investments signal that the district is actively responding to enrollment pressure from population growth, but they also mean that boundary adjustments and new school openings are likely to continue affecting assignments in the years ahead. The district also launched a consolidated Digital Learning Academy, offering an online option for roughly a substantial number of students.
Rowena Chess itself is a school where the core academic challenge is evident from the assessment data. A parent considering this school would want to understand what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards, and what programs are available for the large number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s size and demographics mean it likely reflects the broader community it serves: a fast-growing, predominantly Hispanic, working-class area of Pasco. For a family whose priority is a neighborhood school with a diverse peer environment and a district that is investing heavily in new facilities, Rowena Chess is a straightforward option. For a family focused on high academic outcomes as measured by state tests, the school’s performance would be a soft spot worth investigating further with the school staff.
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