Centennial Middle School, Spokane WA

Original Research by School Decision on Centennial Middle School

Centennial Middle School serves grades six through eight in Spokane and belongs to the West Valley School District. The school sits on the eastern side of the city, an area that blends residential streets with nearby commercial corridors along the Spokane River valley. Spokane itself is the major population and employment center of the Inland Northwest, with a downtown core anchored by Riverfront Park, Gonzaga University close to downtown, and a diversified economy led by healthcare, government, education, and logistics employers such as Fairchild Air Force Base and Amazon. The city has seen modest recent population growth and its housing costs remain relatively moderate compared to western Washington.

Centennial is a regular public school, neither a charter nor a magnet. Enrollment is on the smaller side for a middle school serving grades six through eight. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students identifying as Hispanic and smaller shares of students who are Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, and two or more races. More than half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that a significant portion of families face economic strain. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans and English learner status was not available in the source materials, so a reader who wants to understand special education or language support levels would need to ask the school directly.

State assessment results for the most recent year show proficiency rates that, across tested grades and subjects, place Centennial in the bottom quarter among districts in Spokane County. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the state standard varied by grade, with seventh grade reaching the highest proficiency and sixth and eighth grades lower. In math, proficiency rates were lower across all three grade levels, with eighth grade showing the weakest performance. On the eighth-grade science assessment, about a quarter of students met the standard. A parent should note that these are single-year figures; multi-year trend data was not available because this is the only year of Smarter Balanced results on record for the school under the current assessment framework. There is no graduation rate to report, as the school does not serve high school grades.

The comparison with other school districts in Spokane County places Centennial’s overall proficiency below the midpoint in the county. This does not capture everything about the school environment, but it does signal that academic attainment, as measured by state tests, is an area where families may want to ask about current improvement strategies, intervention programs, and how the school supports students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.

The West Valley School District’s recent financial and facility decisions were not available in the source material, so a parent looking for information about bonds, levies, or capital improvements would need to consult the district’s own communications or board meeting records. Spokane housing in the area around the school reflects a wide range of prices, though the overall market is more affordable than the state average. Rents have risen recently, and mortgage rates nationally have trended high, which may matter to families weighing a move into the attendance zone.

This is a mid-sized middle school with an economically diverse student body and academic results that are below the county median. It sits within a city that offers substantial civic and cultural amenities and a job market diversified beyond its historical resource base. A family considering Centennial would do well to visit, talk with teachers and administrators about academic support, and learn how the school addresses its proficiency gaps before making a decision.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 28% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 23% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 35% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 50% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 45% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 35% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

This schoolWest Valley School District (Spokane), same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income63%37 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income48%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income60%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income49%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income50%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income50%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income22%Higher-income41%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income13%Higher-income29%16 pp gap