Kalama School District

The Kalama School District operates three schools—Kalama Elementary School (K-5), Kalama Middle School (6-8), and Kalama High School (9-12)—on a shared campus, serving about 1,100 students in a district ranked in the middle statewide.

Among these schools, Kalama High School stands out as the strongest performer, with a graduation rate well above the state average and particularly high scores in English. Kalama Elementary School also shows notable strength, especially in science where its students perform far above state averages. In contrast, Kalama Middle School is the district's weakest link, with academic performance that falls significantly below state averages across all subjects and has been declining.

The most striking finding is the dramatic drop in student performance during the middle school years, despite similar student demographics across all grades. The elementary school's exceptional science success does not carry through to middle school, suggesting a possible curriculum or transition issue. While the high school succeeds in graduating students and teaching English well, its math scores are low, indicating an area for focus. The district shows it can achieve excellence, but ensuring consistent quality from kindergarten through graduation, particularly by addressing the middle school challenges, is its key task.