Garfield Middle School

Garfield Middle School is a small public school serving 31 students in grades 6–8 in the rural community of Garfield, Washington. The school is part of the highly rated Garfield School District, which ranks in the 73rd percentile statewide. Its low student-teacher ratio—6.1 to 1—may support individualized attention, although small-school staffing and enrollment can make this figure difficult to compare with larger schools.

The school’s latest overall ranking is 240th of 514 Washington schools, placing it in the 53rd percentile with a three-star rating. That is considerably stronger than nearby Palouse at Garfield Middle School, about 7.7 miles away, which ranks in the 26th percentile. However, current subject results favor Palouse in English Language Arts and math. Garfield’s latest proficiency rates were 36.59% in ELA, 19.51% in math, and 54.55% in science, compared with Palouse’s 45.71% in ELA and 31.43% in math. Garfield also trailed Washington’s averages in ELA and math, while exceeding the state in science. Because the school enrolls only 31 students, results can shift substantially when just a few students perform differently, so multi-year trends are more useful than a single score.

Math is the clearest area for improvement: Garfield’s rate has remained below both district and state averages in every reported year and was less than half the latest statewide rate. ELA has also weakened after being closer to state performance earlier in the period. Science stands out as a relative strength, though its results have fluctuated. The school also serves a higher share of students receiving free or reduced-price meals than Palouse, indicating a different level of economic need that provides important context when comparing outcomes. Overall, Garfield offers the advantages of a very small school and a strong district, but families should ask about math interventions, student growth, and how the school is addressing recent academic declines.