1
Alumni: what's one memory from Pioneer Middle School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
601
Middle
DISTRICT 574 · STATE 577
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WALLA WALLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 530945001605
Pioneer Middle School
450 BRIDGE ST, WALLA WALLA, WA 99362 · (509) 527-3050 · Walla Walla County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL601 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of Washington public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Washington public middle schools
Student : Teacher
19.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 18.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
66%
398 students
DISTRICT 71% · 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 | 208 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 187 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 206 | 34% |
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Pioneer Middle School→Walla Walla High School
Based on grade levels within Walla Walla Public Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
Smarter Balanced + WCAS 2024-25 . % Met or Exceeded StandardEnglish Language Arts
42.0%
WA avg 58.4% . -1.7pp since 2014
Math
26.4%
WA avg 51.2% . -1.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the Smarter Balanced + WCAS, Washington's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 26 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 1 points.
Smarter Balanced + WCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 42.0% | 26.4% |
| 2023-24 | 42.4% | 30.4% |
| 2022-23 | 40.0% | 30.5% |
| 2021-22 | 36.6% | 23.4% |
| 2018-19 | 47.0% | 35.5% |
| 2017-18 | 43.6% | 32.8% |
| 2016-17 | 44.2% | 28.3% |
| 2015-16 | 41.7% | 30.2% |
| 2014-15 | 43.7% | 27.9% |
% 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
34.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.8%
based on WA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 Pioneer Middle School
Pioneer Middle School's state test result (34.8% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pioneer Middle School this school | 601 | 66.2% | 34.8% |
| Oakland Bay Junior High School Shelton | 544 | 65.6% | 21.3% |
| Miller Junior High Aberdeen | 656 | 69.8% | 23.6% |
| Garrison Middle School WALLA WALLA | 546 | 66.8% | 38.0% |
| Olympic Middle School Shelton | 601 | 70.0% | 23.9% |
| Discovery Middle School VANCOUVER | 525 | 67.0% | N/A |
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 Pioneer Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Washington | In Walla Walla County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.8% | #192 of 294 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.4% | #246 of 357 ▼ 48 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #221 of 357 ▼ 8 | N/A |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +4.2pp | #101 of 290 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 601 | #199 of 377 | #1 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.0:1 | #156 of 340 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.8% | #184 of 340 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 66.2% | #80 of 359 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.9% | #117 of 192 | N/A |
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
601
+44 (+8%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 665
Student : Teacher
19.0:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 601 | 31.7 | 19.0:1 | 66% (398) |
| 2023-24 | 575 | 32.3 | 17.8:1 | 73% (419) |
| 2022-23 | 613 | 33.3 | 18.4:1 | 72% (440) |
| 2020-21 | 557 | 31 | 18.0:1 | 59% (328) |
| 2017-18 | 660 | 35.2 | 18.8:1 | 56% (370) |
| 2015-16 | 674 | 36 | 18.7:1 | 59% (401) |
| 2010-11 | 627 | 34 | 18.4:1 | 36% (228) |
| 2000-01 | 627 | 37 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 665 | 33 | 20.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pioneer Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (660 to 601); teachers down 10% (35.2 to 31.7).
About Pioneer Middle School
Pioneer Middle School is a mid-sized middle school in WALLA WALLA, Washington. Students in grades 6 through 8 make up the school's enrollment of 601 students.
Walla Walla Public Schools counts 5,410 students in its 16 schools, and Pioneer Middle School is one of them.
At Pioneer Middle School, 51% of students are White. The remaining students are 42% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. Census figures show Walla Walla County is about 73% White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 56%.
For every teacher at Pioneer Middle School, there are about 19.0 students; the school has 31.7 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 18.9:1 average for middle schools in Washington is close to this figure. The eligibility rate for free or reduced-price meals is 66%.
Pioneer Middle School holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 52% of Washington public middle schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 35.8% for Pioneer Middle School. The school posts 34.8%, within a point of the prediction.
American Community Survey estimates for Walla Walla County show that median household income comes to about $74,202, roughly 30% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. The county's public schools total 33, with about 8,516 students.
Among nearby public schools, Edison Elementary School is closest at about 0.2 miles. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Pioneer Middle School. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, Pioneer Middle School ranks 4th on average proficiency.
Pioneer Middle School is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, a location NCES labels City: Small.
In 2020-21, Pioneer Middle School enrolled 557 students. By 2024-25, that number had grown to 601. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.0:1 to 19.0:1.
This page collects posts and questions about Pioneer Middle School, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Walla Walla County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
62,161
Census ACS
Median income
$74,202
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
33
8,516 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Walla Walla Public Schools
- Walla Walla High SchoolHigh · 1,554 students
- Garrison Middle SchoolMiddle · 546 students
- Green Park Elementary SchoolElementary · 526 students
- Edison Elementary SchoolElementary · 464 students
- Prospect Point ElementaryElementary · 414 students
- Sharpstein Elementary SchoolElementary · 340 students
Other schools in WALLA WALLA
- Walla Walla High SchoolHigh · 1,554 students
- Garrison Middle SchoolMiddle · 546 students
- Green Park Elementary SchoolElementary · 526 students
- Edison Elementary SchoolElementary · 464 students
- Prospect Point ElementaryElementary · 414 students
- Sharpstein Elementary SchoolElementary · 340 students
Other Pioneer Middle schools
9 other US public schools in 5 states are named Pioneer Middle. Pioneer Middle School is the 7th largest of the 10.
- Pioneer MiddleDuPont, WA · 758 students
- Pioneer Middle SchoolWENATCHEE, WA · 488 students
- Pioneer Middle SchoolSHELTON, WA · 250 students
- PIONEER MIDDLE SCHOOLCOOPER CITY, FL · 1,453 students
- Pioneer MiddleTustin, CA · 971 students
Nearby schools
- Edison Elementary School0.2 mi · 464
- Berney Elementary School0.5 mi · 324
- Sharpstein Elementary School0.8 mi · 340
- Walla Walla Open Doors0.8 mi · 105
- Green Park Elementary School0.9 mi · 526
- Walla Walla Online1.1 mi · 72
Frequently asked questions
About Pioneer Middle SchoolHow large is Pioneer Middle School?
Pioneer Middle School enrolls approximately 601 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Pioneer Middle School serve?
Pioneer Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Pioneer Middle School have?
Pioneer Middle School employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Pioneer Middle School?
Student demographics at Pioneer Middle School are roughly 51% White, 42% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Pioneer Middle School public or private?
Pioneer Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Walla Walla Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.