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What's the biggest difference between Highland Middle School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
704
Middle
DISTRICT 775 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MEAD SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 530492003767
Highland Middle School
3515 W Hawthorne Rd, Spokane, WA 99208 · (509) 465-6510 · Spokane County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL704 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
33%
231 students
DISTRICT 41% · STATE 51%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 238 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 248 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 218 | 31% |
Student demographics
34%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 37% · STATE 68% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
61.5%
WA avg 58.4% . -3.6pp since 2021
Math
50.9%
WA avg 51.2% . -5.6pp since 2021
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Washington schools, those numbers are about 58 and 51. Reading and writing scores are down about 4 points since 2021, while math scores are down about 6 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.5% | 50.9% |
| 2023-24 | 63.6% | 55.3% |
| 2022-23 | 64.7% | 59.3% |
| 2021-22 | 65.2% | 56.6% |
% Met or Exceeded Standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: Smarter Balanced + WCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
55.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
58.2%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 58% typical for Washington schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Washington's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Highland Middle School
Highland Middle School's state test result (55.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Middle School this school | 704 | 32.8% | 55.4% |
| Anacortes Middle School Anacortes | 617 | 32.7% | 54.5% |
| Evergreen Middle School Spokane Valley | 668 | 35.8% | 52.8% |
| Selkirk Middle School Liberty Lake | 613 | 35.7% | 51.7% |
| Port Susan Middle School STANWOOD | 530 | 32.8% | 53.1% |
| Northwood Middle School SPOKANE | 796 | 38.6% | 47.9% |
Matched among Washington middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Highland Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Spokane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.4% | #67 of 294 | #3 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.9% | #72 of 357 ▼ 17 | #4 of 26 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #74 of 357 ▼ 11 | #3 of 26 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.6pp | #23 of 290 | #2 of 23 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 704 | #130 of 377 | #5 of 27 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #76 of 340 | #14 of 27 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 34.4% | #303 of 340 | #19 of 27 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 32.8% | #287 of 359 | #25 of 27 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
704
-89 (-11%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 19.8:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 704 | 40 | 17.6:1 | 33% (231) |
| 2023-24 | 693 | 39.5 | 17.5:1 | 30% (206) |
| 2022-23 | 741 | 39.2 | 18.9:1 | 27% (200) |
| 2020-21 | 793 | 40 | 19.8:1 | 18% (145) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Highland Middle School.
About Highland Middle School
Located in Spokane, Washington, Highland Middle School is a mid-sized middle school. It has an enrollment of 704 students in grades 6 through 8. That compares with an average of about 577 students for middle schools in Washington.
Highland Middle School sits within Mead School District, which has 17 schools and 10,657 students.
By race and ethnicity, Highland Middle School is 80% White. Enrollment also includes 9% multiracial and 6% Hispanic. In Spokane County overall, the White share is about 83%. A diversity index of 34% means there is a 34% chance two randomly chosen students at Highland Middle School are from different groups.
Staffing at Highland Middle School comes to 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 17.6:1. Middle schools in Washington have an average ratio of 18.9:1. On the income side, 33% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Spokane County average 52%.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Highland Middle School would score about 58.2%. It scores 55.4%, 2.8 points below that figure.
Looking at the county, Spokane County, the median household earns about $78,582 a year, 33% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. Spokane County has 187 public schools with about 76,588 students, including Highland Middle School.
Skyline Elementary is the nearest public school to Highland Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. Highland Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Highland Middle School comes in 4th of 8 nearby schools on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Highland Middle School is coded Rural: Fringe, for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 704, down from 793 in 2020-21. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 19.8:1 to 17.6:1.
Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Highland Middle School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Spokane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
549,056
Census ACS
Median income
$78,582
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
187
76,588 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mead School District
- Mead Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,827 students
- Mt Spokane High SchoolHigh · 1,482 students
- Mountainside Middle SchoolMiddle · 824 students
- Northwood Middle SchoolMiddle · 796 students
- Mead Learning OptionsCombined · 790 students
- Farwell Elementary SchoolElementary · 471 students
Other schools in Spokane
- Mead Senior High SchoolHigh · 1,827 students
- Lewis & Clark High SchoolHigh · 1,673 students
- North Central High SchoolHigh · 1,647 students
- Ferris High SchoolHigh · 1,644 students
- Rogers High SchoolHigh · 1,498 students
- Shadle Park High SchoolHigh · 1,445 students
Other Highland Middle schools
17 other US public schools in 13 states are named Highland Middle. Highland Middle School is the 6th largest of the 18.
- Highland Middle SchoolBellevue, WA · 589 students
- Highland Middle SchoolCowiche, WA · 243 students
- Highland Middle SchoolAnderson, IN · 916 students
- Highland Middle SchoolMedina, OH · 824 students
- HIGHLAND MIDDLE SCHOOLHOBBS, NM · 808 students
Nearby schools
- Skyline Elementary0.3 mi · 412
- Prairie View Elementary0.8 mi · 386
- Woodridge Elementary1.0 mi · 369
- Mead Learning Options1.0 mi · 790
- Indian Trail Elementary2.1 mi · 303
- Brentwood Elementary School2.3 mi · 468
Frequently asked questions
About Highland Middle SchoolHow large is Highland Middle School?
Highland Middle School enrolls approximately 704 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Highland Middle School serve?
Highland Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Highland Middle School have?
Highland Middle School employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Highland Middle School?
Student demographics at Highland Middle School are roughly 80% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Highland Middle School public or private?
Highland Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Mead School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.