The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in Math. The lowest is 21% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Stevens Elementary
Stevens Elementary serves students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Spokane School District. It sits in the East Central neighborhood of Spokane, a city that functions as the economic and cultural center of the Inland Northwest. The school draws its enrollment from families living within the attendance zone, and like the city itself, the student body reflects a mix of racial and economic backgrounds. White students make up the largest share, with substantial representation of students who identify as Hispanic, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races, Black, Asian, and American Indian or Alaska Native. A large majority of students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch.
The school’s academic results, based on the state’s Smarter Balanced assessments in English language arts, math, and science, point to significant challenges. In the most recent testing year, proficiency rates varied widely by grade and subject, but across all tested grades and subjects, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile among districts in Spokane County. Third graders posted the strongest results, while fourth- and fifth-grade proficiency rates in both math and reading fell well below the midpoint of the comparison set. Science results for fifth graders were similarly low. Because only one year of state testing data is available, it is not possible to see whether performance is improving or declining. A parent considering Stevens Elementary would want to talk directly with the school about its approach to accelerating learning in the upper elementary grades.
Several data points that families often use to gauge a school’s environment are missing from publicly reported records. There is no information on chronic absenteeism, disciplinary incidents, teacher staffing ratios, or the share of students receiving special education or English learner services. Without these figures, a parent cannot assess things like daily attendance patterns or whether the school has the staff to support students with individualized learning plans. In particular, the absence of data on chronic absenteeism is a notable gap, as that metric can signal broader engagement issues. A parent should ask the school for internal reports on these topics.
The Spokane School District has been investing heavily in its physical plant. A voter-approved bond funded the construction of three new middle schools—Yasuhara, Peperzak, and Flett—that opened in the 2022–2023 school year. Those new buildings have reshaped middle school feeder patterns across the district, so a family at Stevens Elementary will want to know which middle school their child will attend and whether the new school is within reasonable distance. The district’s capital spending reflects a long-term commitment to facility upgrades, though it does not by itself say anything about academic programming at any one school.
Spokane itself is a midsized city with a genuine downtown core along the Spokane River. Housing costs are moderate compared to western Washington, and the local economy has diversified from its historical reliance on mining, timber, and agriculture into healthcare, government, education, and logistics. Major employers include Fairchild Air Force Base, Providence Health Care, Amazon, and the school district itself. The city’s growth has been steady but not explosive, and the neighborhoods surrounding Stevens Elementary are a mix of older residential stock and commercial corridors.
Stevens Elementary is a school serving a high-poverty population in a district that is modernizing its middle school infrastructure but where academic proficiency on state tests is well below the county average. The school offers a full pre-kindergarten program, which can be a meaningful early-education support for families. Beyond that, a parent making a decision about this school would benefit from a visit, a conversation with the principal about intervention strategies, and a look at the feeder middle school options. The available data raises important questions about academic support in grades four and five, and the missing civil rights and attendance data leave those questions unanswered.
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