Royal Middle School

Royal Middle School is a grades 7–8 school serving 282 students in Royal City, Washington, as part of the Royal School District. The school ranks in the 36th percentile statewide, placing it below the Washington middle-school midpoint, but it has made substantial progress from the 8th percentile in 2018–19. Its strongest current subject is English Language Arts (ELA), where 51.67% of students are proficient—above the district average and just below the state average.

Mathematics is the school’s clearest challenge. Only 21.19% of students were proficient in math in 2025–26, compared with 33.37% in the district and 43.11% statewide. Results were similarly low in both 7th and 8th grade, and performance has stayed in the low 20% range for several years. Science proficiency was 35.86%, below the state average but close to the district result and improved from the previous year. The contrast with nearby Royal Intermediate School is especially notable in math: the intermediate school posted 43.21% proficiency, although the schools serve different grade levels. This suggests that the transition into middle-school mathematics deserves attention.

Compared with regional Wahluke Junior High, Royal Middle performs better in every tested subject, including a 23.39-point advantage in ELA and a 20.28-point advantage in science. The school also shows promising results for English Language Learners and has improved its low-income student-group ranking, though outcomes vary among student groups and the male subgroup ranks below the female subgroup. Royal Middle has a higher student-teacher ratio and lower per-student spending than both comparison schools, factors that may make intensive intervention more difficult. Overall, the school is improving, with ELA and science showing momentum, while sustained math improvement should be the main priority.