The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in Science. The lowest is 17% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Regal Elementary
Regal Elementary sits in Spokane’s northeastern neighborhoods, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Spokane School District. The school draws from a corner of the city that has a different economic profile than some Spokane addresses, and the data paints a clear picture of the challenges the school community faces.
Spokane itself is the region’s largest city, a historic inland hub that has moved past its timber and mining roots into healthcare, education, government, and logistics. The downtown core along the Spokane River hosts Riverfront Park and major annual events like Bloomsday and Hoopfest. Housing in the school’s ZIP code is well below the state median value, and rents are modest relative to national averages, consistent with a neighborhood where home affordability is a real advantage for families. The district has been investing heavily in facilities, opening three new middle schools funded by a major bond in the past few years, a shift that reshaped feeder patterns across the city.
Regal Elementary enrolls roughly a few hundred students, a size that keeps the school manageable for its grade band. The student body is predominantly White, with smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Black or African American. A very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context that directly shapes what the staff works with every day.
On state testing, the results are the central fact a prospective parent would want to understand. In math, proficiency rates for the tested grades are well below the midpoint among districts in Spokane County, landing in the bottom quartile when the school’s overall performance is compared to peers. The third-grade math proficiency rate is about one in five students meeting the bar, and fourth grade is similar. Fifth-grade math is markedly lower, with fewer than one in ten students proficient. In English language arts, the pattern is similar but slightly stronger in fourth grade, where roughly three in ten students met the standard, while third and fifth grades sit around one in five or lower. Fifth-grade science, which is tested separately, shows a higher share of students reaching proficiency, roughly a third. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Spokane County, a clear signal of where academic performance stands.
Because Regal is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline was not available in this profile. A parent considering the school would want to ask the staff directly about attendance patterns and classroom climate, as these are often closely tied to the same economic factors visible in the testing data.
The district’s recent middle school construction means that Regal families feed into one of the newer buildings, which may offer different facilities than the elementary school itself. The school does not appear to be a magnet or charter, and no special program offerings were listed in the data. For a family weighing Regal Elementary, the honest picture is a high-poverty neighborhood school where state test scores are low across the board. The school’s strengths lie in what is not captured by these numbers: a small, community-anchored setting serving a population that many schools in more affluent parts of the city do not. The science results, while still below state averages, suggest that some instructional areas may be working better than others. A parent would want to visit, talk to the principal about how the school supports students who are behind grade level, and understand what resources the district directs to this building.
See more original research from School Decision →