The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Math. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Adams Elementary
Adams Elementary is a regular public school in Spokane, Washington, serving students in pre-kindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of Spokane Public Schools, the city’s largest school district and one of the area’s top employers. The school sits in the South Hill neighborhood of Spokane, a city of about that size that is the economic and cultural center of the Inland Northwest. Spokane’s economy has diversified away from its historical base in mining, timber, and agriculture into healthcare, government, education, and logistics, with Fairchild Air Force Base, Providence Health Care, and Amazon among the largest employers. The city has a historic downtown core along the Spokane River, with Riverfront Park at its center, and hosts major community events like the Lilac Bloomsday Run and Hoopfest. Housing values in the school’s immediate area sit near the middle of the national range, and the affordability picture is one where owning a home carries a higher monthly cost than renting, a pattern many families in the region weigh when choosing a neighborhood.
Adams Elementary is a neighborhood school with a student body that is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students identifying as two or more races and a smaller but notable Hispanic representation. Asian, Black, Native American, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students each make up a small share of the enrollment. A significant majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that this school serves a population with considerable economic need.
The school’s academic performance on the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments in math and English language arts, and on the state science assessment, came in at rates that placed Adams Elementary in the bottom quartile among districts in Spokane County. In math, proficiency rates for third, fourth, and fifth grades were each below the county median, with fourth grade showing a higher rate than third or fifth. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency was lower than fourth and fifth, each of which also sat well below the county midpoint. Science proficiency in fifth grade was similarly below the median. Because this is the only year of data available, it is not possible to tell whether these results represent a stable trend or a single year in flux. The school serves grades that are tested by the state, so these results are a direct reflection of the school’s current academic standing. A parent looking at these numbers would want to ask the school what steps are in place to raise achievement, and to understand whether the school’s resources and instruction are aligned with the needs of its students.
The district has recently completed a major construction program funded by a large bond, opening three new middle schools that reshaped feeder patterns and school capacity. That means the middle school a student from Adams Elementary will attend may be different from the historical pattern, depending on the year and the new attendance boundaries. Families with children in the upper elementary grades will want to confirm the middle school assignment directly with the district.
The school’s enrollment is moderate, with a class size that looks typical for a neighborhood elementary in this region. No chronic absenteeism data or discipline data were available in the records used here, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those areas. Special education and English learner populations were also not reported in the data.
For a family considering Adams Elementary, the picture is of a school that serves a high-need population in a large urban district that has invested significantly in its facilities. The academic proficiency numbers are low relative to the county, and a family would want to engage with the school about its instructional approach and support systems. The setting is a city with a strong civic core, a riverfront park system, and a diversified economy, and the school sits in a residential neighborhood within that larger city. This is not a school with test scores that leap out, but the district’s recent building program and the school’s role as a neighborhood anchor are the stable facts a family would use to start the conversation.
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