Summary:
West Valley School District (Spokane) has two middle schools serving grades 5–8: Centennial Middle School, which serves grades 6–8, and West Valley City School, which serves grades 5–8. Together, they enroll 736 students in the Spokane-area district. The schools differ considerably in size and academic performance, with West Valley City serving 200 students and Centennial serving 536.
West Valley City School is the clear academic standout. In 2025–26, it ranked 121st out of 514 Washington middle schools, placing it in the 76th percentile, while Centennial Middle School ranked 321st, in the 38th percentile. West Valley City exceeded both district and state proficiency rates in English language arts, math, and science. Its strongest result was science, at 69.74%, compared with 33.92% at Centennial. It also had a substantial advantage in ELA, 61.98% versus 38.91%, and a smaller but meaningful advantage in math, 44.79% versus 35.74%. West Valley City’s eighth-grade results were particularly strong, especially in ELA and science.
Centennial Middle School has shown encouraging recent improvement, rising 102 ranking places and 17 percentile points from 2024–25 to 2025–26. Its math proficiency increased by more than 10 points, although later-grade math remains a concern: performance declined from 43.64% in sixth grade to 30.81% in eighth grade. Science is another priority, particularly eighth grade, while sixth-grade math is a relative strength. Families comparing the schools should also note the different grade configurations and enrollments, since West Valley City includes fifth grade and is much smaller. Overall, West Valley City offers stronger current academic outcomes, while Centennial’s improving trend is the most positive recent development.
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