The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 39% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Reardan Middle-senior High School
Reardan Middle-Senior High School serves students from sixth through twelfth grade under one roof in the small agricultural town of Reardan, about a short drive west of Spokane. The school is the only secondary campus in the Reardan-Edwall School District, and its building sits close to the town’s main street along US Route 2, where community events like the annual Mule Days parade and basketball tournaments take place in front of the school. The setting is rural, the town compact, and the school integrated into the fabric of daily life rather than isolated on a distant campus.
State testing data covers only the seventh and eighth grades for math and English language arts, plus eighth-grade science. In the most recent results, proficiency in ELA was achieved by roughly half of students in grade seven and a slightly larger share in grade eight. Math proficiency was lower in both grades, with about a third of seventh graders and a modest share of eighth graders meeting the bar. Science proficiency among eighth graders came in around half. Because the school serves high school grades but no state assessment results are available for those years, a parent or guardian would need to ask the school directly about how its older students are performing on end-of-course exams or college readiness measures. The school provided only a single year of data, so there is no trend to evaluate yet.
Enrollment is moderate for a combined middle and high school. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of American Indian or Alaska Native students, Hispanic students, and students identifying as two or more races. About a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, reflecting the community’s agricultural and working-class base. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported. A graduation rate was also not available, which likely reflects the fact that this figure is reported at the district level rather than the school level, or that the school has not published it; a parent should check with the district for that measure.
Reardan itself is a wheat-farming town with a history tied to the railroad and grain shipping. It has grown modestly in recent decades, partly because of its proximity to Spokane and Fairchild Air Force Base. Housing values are moderate compared to the state as a whole, and renting is more common than buying for a typical household. The town’s civic anchors include Audubon Lake, a wetland bird habitat with paved trails, and the Inland Northwest Rail Museum. The district brief found no major recent changes or initiatives to report, so the school’s programming and priorities appear stable in the near term.
When compared with other districts in Lincoln County, this school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint. That places it in the middle of the range among its county peers, not the strongest but not at the bottom. Because the comparison is limited to Lincoln County, a rural area with several small districts, the field is narrow and the distinction may be slight.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small, community-rooted secondary school where middle-grade test results are a mixed bag and high school performance is not publicly visible in state data. The school’s rural setting, modest housing costs, and proximity to Spokane for work or services could appeal to those seeking a slower pace. The missing pieces—high school assessment data, graduation rate, special education and English learner counts—are gaps worth following up on directly with the school or district office.
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