Best Public Schools in Spokane, WA

The Spokane-area school list includes 91 schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12 across several districts, including Spokane School District, Mead School District, and West Valley School District (Spokane). It includes 51 elementary schools, 14 middle schools, 22 high schools, and four alternative schools, so families will find substantial differences in school size, programs, student populations, and academic results.

Among traditional high schools, Mead Senior High School stands out for its 87th-percentile ranking, 90.0% graduation rate, 2.8% dropout rate, and especially strong 84.51% ELA proficiency. Lewis & Clark High School has the highest graduation rate among the major Spokane high schools at 93.0%, while Ferris High School and Innovation High School show notable ranking improvement. For middle schools, Sacajawea Middle School, Carla Peperzak Middle School, and Highland Middle School lead the group. At the elementary level, Wilson Elementary, Moran Prairie Elementary, Skyline Elementary, and Hutton Elementary have particularly strong results in multiple subjects.

Math is the most common academic weakness, especially in high schools, even where graduation rates are strong. For example, On Track Academy reports a 94.2% graduation rate but only 18.92% ELA proficiency, showing that graduation and test performance measure different aspects of student success. Families should also treat rankings carefully because schools are compared within separate elementary, middle, and high-school groups. Small, virtual, and alternative programs such as Bryant Center and Lumen High School may have unusually variable results, while suppressed scores are unknown rather than zero. Looking at several years of rankings, graduation data, subject results, school size, and program fit will provide a more useful comparison than relying on one rating.