Summary
Shaw Middle School is a grades 6–8 school in Spokane, serving 693 students at 4106 N Cook St. in a relatively high-need area, with 79.22% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–25. The school is part of Spokane School District, which ranks around the middle of Washington districts overall. Shaw has a relatively favorable 15.1:1 student-teacher ratio and spent $19,188 per student in 2023–24, but these resource measures have not translated into strong academic results.
Academic performance is Shaw’s most important challenge. In 2025–26, 22.78% of students were proficient in English language arts, 15.31% in math, and 24.02% in science. These results were roughly 24–30 percentage points below district and state rates, and Shaw ranked 488th of 514 Washington middle schools, in the 5th percentile. Math is the clearest weakness, with sixth-grade proficiency at 11.33%; no grade reached district or state averages. Seventh grade was relatively stronger in both ELA and math, which may provide useful examples of instructional practices to study. Science improved from 13.59% to 24.02% in the latest year, although it remains well below state and district levels. Overall, ELA and math results have fluctuated without showing sustained growth.
Shaw’s results are lower than those of nearly all nearby comparison schools. For example, Sacajawea Middle School posted proficiency rates of 66.58% in ELA, 61.87% in math, and 64.06% in science, while Chase Middle School and Pauline Flett Middle School also performed substantially better. Shaw serves a higher-need population than most of these schools, but its results are also weak compared with Glover Middle School and Garry Middle School, which serve similarly high-need populations. Shaw’s ranking matches Denny Yasuhara Middle School at the 5th percentile statewide. Key areas for further investigation include attendance, student mobility, intervention systems, math instruction, and practices that may be contributing to stronger seventh-grade results.
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