Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Spanaway Middle School

Q: Is Spanaway Middle School a good school?

Spanaway Middle School ranks 279 th of 534 Washington middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

279^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 534 Washington Middle Schools

Better than 48% of Washington middle schools

Summary

Spanaway Middle School is a public school serving about 766 students in grades 6 through 8 in the Bethel School District in Tacoma, WA, and it stands out as a school on a strong and consistent upward trajectory, having significantly improved its statewide ranking over the past several years.

Academically, the school shows particular strength in mathematics, where student proficiency exceeds both the district and state averages, especially in 6th grade. While English Language Arts performance is solid, science is noted as an area for continued growth. The school is notably effective in supporting specific student groups, earning high marks for its work with English Language Learners, African American and Hispanic students, and students experiencing homelessness. It achieves these outcomes while spending less per student than many nearby schools like Morris Ford Middle School or Lochburn Middle School.

When compared to other local schools, Spanaway Middle School outperforms its peers within the Bethel School District, such as Liberty Middle School and Cedarcrest Middle School, and holds its own against schools in neighboring districts. This consistent improvement and efficient operation make it a compelling choice for families in the area seeking a middle school that is clearly progressing and effectively serving its community.

766

Students ?

22.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,638

Per pupil spending ?

67.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

15701 B Street East
Tacoma, WA 98445-1198

(253) 800-5400

District: Bethel School District

Students who attend Spanaway Middle School usually attend:

High:

Spanaway Lake High School

Feeder schools for Spanaway Middle School:

Elementary:	Chester H Thompson Elementary
	Naches Trail Elementary
	Spanaway Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

32.4%

White:

26.9%

Two or more races:

17.5%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Spanaway Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 53rd percentile in 2024 → 48th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Washington average (41% vs 48% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped from its 53rd-percentile peak (2024) to 48th (2025)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school41%

District avg43%

Washington avg48%

279^th of 534

Washington public middle schools ?

Bottom 48%▲ up 22 pts since 2015

From bottom 26% (2015) to bottom 48% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Washington Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 6Middle Schools in the Bethel School District

138^th of 247Bethel School District among Washington districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	44.6	279 of 534	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.6	250 of 535	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.4	277 of 539	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.3	253 of 541	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	22.6	419 of 529	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	431 of 512	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.9	339 of 437	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	26.0	333 of 435	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	25.5	339 of 443	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	27.3	331 of 445	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	24.9	393 of 498	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	23.1	405 of 497	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	41.5	315 of 492	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2010	21.4	408 of 483	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.6	374 of 476	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	30.1	348 of 466	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	15.9	417 of 463	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	11.4	417 of 449	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	26.8	338 of 425	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	17.1	369 of 421	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	56.8	39 of 101	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.0	29 of 90	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	83.7	11 of 96	88.5%	★★★★☆
2022	48.4	44 of 104	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	36.2	69 of 106	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.2	79 of 111	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	44.0	30 of 66	54.5%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	41.3	83 of 147	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	5.3	151 of 152	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.5	112 of 123	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	51.8	30 of 96	68.8%	★★★★☆
2024	42.7	35 of 78	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	37.9	22 of 57	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	39.9	48 of 100	52.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	41.6	265 of 471	43.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.3	230 of 464	50.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.8	253 of 464	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.2	230 of 479	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	23.9	366 of 469	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.3	371 of 452	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.7	293 of 376	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	54.9	133 of 347	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	69.0	76 of 344	77.9%	★★★★☆
2023	49.9	140 of 336	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	70.5	71 of 360	80.3%	★★★★☆
2021	37.6	207 of 353	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.1	245 of 344	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.9	195 of 259	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	80.1	5 of 22	77.3%	★★★★☆
2023	67.7	3 of 11	72.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	60.7	150 of 457	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	68.7	105 of 455	76.9%	★★★★☆
2023	56.9	170 of 463	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	64.2	115 of 475	75.8%	★★★★☆
2021	35.5	304 of 458	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	25.8	359 of 448	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.8	270 of 349	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	45.4	247 of 472	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.0	217 of 466	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.0	258 of 470	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.0	236 of 480	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	23.0	369 of 476	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.6	399 of 453	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.9	311 of 371	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	69.3	5 of 43	88.4%	★★★★★
2024	49.7	25 of 46	45.7%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	38.0	153 of 246	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.5	126 of 243	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.6	137 of 244	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.4	179 of 257	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	18.0	221 of 250	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.7	232 of 246	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	133 of 166	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Pacific Islander

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	41.0	7 of 10	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	69.1	4 of 10	60.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.9	3 of 6	50.0%	★★★★☆
2022	63.6	6 of 20	70.0%	★★★★☆
2021	73.4	2 of 19	89.5%	★★★★★
2019	39.2	16 of 31	48.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	45.3	5 of 11	54.5%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2023	43.1	87 of 167	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.4	90 of 199	54.8%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Washington percentile	Rating
2025	56.9	190 of 488	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	58.3	187 of 486	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.6	199 of 488	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	54.0	209 of 488	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	22.2	392 of 480	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	368 of 470	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.9	272 of 325	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Military Connected (2025)88th percentile+41 vs school

Homeless (2025)77th percentile+30 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)69th percentile+21 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)67th percentile+19 vs school

Hispanic (2025)62nd percentile+14 vs school

African American (2025)61st percentile+14 vs school

White (2025)61st percentile+13 vs school

Special Education (2023)48th percentile~ school

Male (2025)48th percentile~ school

Female (2025)44th percentile-4 vs school

Asian (2025)44th percentile-4 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)38th percentile-10 vs school

Pacific Islander (2025)30th percentile-18 vs school

By subject vs Washington (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts45%-8 vs state

Math41%~ state avg

Science36%-14 vs state

4.5

2 ratings

5★1

4★1

3★0

2★0

1★0

Rate Spanaway Middle School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near Spanaway Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				WCAS Science (2025)		SBAC English Language Arts (2025)				SBAC Math (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WCAS Science 8th Grade	WCAS Science All Grades	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts All Grades	SBAC Math 6th Grade	SBAC Math 7th Grade	SBAC Math 8th Grade	SBAC Math All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Spanaway Middle School	Public	6-8	15701 B Street East	Tacoma	98445	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-5400	766	34	22.5	67.8%	206 (26.9%)	72 (9.4%)	248 (32.4%)	28 (3.7%)	10 (1.3%)	68 (8.9%)	134 (17.5%)	44.6	279^th of 534 public middle schools	47.8%		49.6	250^th of 535 public middle schools	53.3%	29	35.7	35.7	40.9	42.3	52.9	45.1	50.0	39.2	33.8	41.3	$16,638	$1,318	$15,320
Cedarcrest Middle School	Public	6-8	191201 13th Avenue Crt. E.	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-7500	765	35	21.7	62.6%	191 (25.0%)	107 (14.0%)	174 (22.7%)	60 (7.8%)	5 (0.7%)	59 (7.7%)	169 (22.1%)	21.2	433^rd of 534 public middle schools	18.9%		21.5	437^th of 535 public middle schools	18.3%	4	25.3	25.3	45.5	41.1	35.1	40.7	21.6	24.2	14.3	20.0	$17,358	$1,243	$16,115
Perry G Keithley Middle School	Public	6-8	12324 12th Ave S	Tacoma	98444	Pierce County	Franklin Pierce School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 298-4307	804	45	17.8	68.8%	195 (24.3%)	92 (11.4%)	266 (33.1%)	38 (4.7%)	8 (1.0%)	79 (9.8%)	126 (15.7%)	8	510^th of 534 public middle schools	4.5%		7.5	521^st of 535 public middle schools	2.6%	11	19.3	19.3	25.4	22.4	25.3	24.4	15.6	13.6	14.5	14.5	$19,335	$1,860	$17,475
Morris Ford Middle School	Public	6-8	1602 104th Street East	Tacoma	98445	Pierce County	Franklin Pierce School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 298-3605	831	46	18.0	64.6%	232 (27.9%)	81 (9.7%)	292 (35.1%)	60 (7.2%)	7 (0.8%)	46 (5.5%)	113 (13.6%)	21.1	434^th of 534 public middle schools	18.7%		26.9	389^th of 535 public middle schools	27.3%	45	30.7	30.7	32.5	45.6	32.9	36.7	19.6	25.1	22.9	22.3	$19,891	$1,465	$18,426
Bethel Middle School	Public	6-8	22201 38th Avenue East	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-7200	661	32	20.8	63.5%	228 (34.5%)	51 (7.7%)	176 (26.6%)	19 (2.9%)	4 (0.6%)	55 (8.3%)	128 (19.4%)	38.7	314^th of 534 public middle schools	41.2%		36.2	326^th of 535 public middle schools	39.1%	12	38.9	38.9	49.1	51.5	46.1	48.8	28.6	30.4	30.4	29.8	$17,482	$938	$16,544
Baker Middle School	Public	6-8	8001 So J Street	Tacoma	98408	Pierce County	Tacoma School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 571-5000	687	34	19.9	71.5%	116 (16.9%)	87 (12.7%)	226 (32.9%)	93 (13.5%)	8 (1.2%)	39 (5.7%)	114 (16.6%)	19.8	441^st of 534 public middle schools	17.4%		24.6	407^th of 535 public middle schools	23.9%	34	23.8	23.8	36.7	38.1	40.7	38.5	21.1	23.1	20.6	21.6	$19,451	$1,425	$18,026
Liberty Middle School	Public	6-8	7319 Eustis-Hunt Rd E	Spanaway	98387	Pierce County	Bethel School District	No	No	No	No	(253) 800-6500	857	41	21.1	54.0%	306 (35.7%)	97 (11.3%)	186 (21.7%)	53 (6.2%)	7 (0.8%)	52 (6.1%)	154 (18.0%)	33.4	351^st of 534 public middle schools	34.3%		41.5	300^th of 535 public middle schools	43.9%	51	26.7	26.7	41.5	47.3	47.7	45.5	29.8	33.2	30.1	31.0	$16,330	$1,035	$15,295
Lochburn Middle School	Public	6-8	5431 Steilacoom Blvd SW	Lakewood	98499	Pierce County	Clover Park School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 583-5420	497	33	15.0	82.7%	62 (12.5%)	86 (17.3%)	200 (40.2%)	23 (4.6%)	4 (0.8%)	57 (11.5%)	65 (13.1%)	3.2	533^rd of 534 public middle schools	0.2%		3.9	533^rd of 535 public middle schools	0.4%		12.9	12.9	15.3	9.7	16.4	13.6	9.5	8.8	3.6	7.6	$23,494	$3,018	$20,476
Doris Stahl Junior High	Public	6-10	9610 168th St E	Puyallup	98375	Pierce County	Puyallup School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 840-8881	846	38	22.1	45.9%	365 (43.1%)	70 (8.3%)	180 (21.3%)	67 (7.9%)	4 (0.5%)	31 (3.7%)	124 (14.7%)	57.4	203^rd of 534 public middle schools	62.0%		55	217^th of 535 public middle schools	59.4%	14	44.8	44.8		58.7	53.1	56.0		44.9	39.0	42.1	$15,842	$1,002	$14,840
Ballou Junior High	Public	7-9	9916 136th St E	Puyallup	98373	Pierce County	Puyallup School District	No	No	No	Yes	(253) 841-8725	852	39	21.9	49.4%	381 (44.7%)	73 (8.6%)	172 (20.2%)	55 (6.5%)	10 (1.2%)	31 (3.6%)	129 (15.1%)	53.5	225^th of 534 public middle schools	57.9%		56.7	207^th of 535 public middle schools	61.3%	18	42.5	42.5		66.7	56.3	61.6		38.0	29.0	33.6	$15,904	$525	$15,379

Frequently Asked Questions about Spanaway Middle School

How many students attend Spanaway Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 766 students attended Spanaway Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Spanaway Middle School?

Students at Spanaway Middle School are 32% Hispanic, 27% White, 17% Two or more races, 9% African American, 9% Pacific Islander, 4% Asian, 1% American Indian.

What high school do graduates of Spanaway Middle School attend?

Students who attend Spanaway Middle School usually go on to attend Spanaway Lake High School

What district is Spanaway Middle School in?

Bethel School District

Is Spanaway Middle School a good school?

Spanaway Middle School ranks 279^th of 534 Washington middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Spanaway Middle School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

WAWashington Middle School Rankings

WAWashington District Rankings

Schools in Tacoma, WA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Spanaway Middle School!

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Washington State Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.