Is Bowdish Middle School a good school?

Bowdish Middle School ranks in the bottom 17.4% of Washington middle schools.

How many students attend Bowdish Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 361 students attended Bowdish Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Bowdish Middle School?

Students at Bowdish Middle School are 78% White, 6% African American, 6% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic, 3% American Indian, 2% Pacific Islander.

What high school do graduates of Bowdish Middle School attend?

Students who attend Bowdish Middle School usually go on to attend University High School

Bowdish Middle School

Summary:

Bowdish Middle School is a public middle school in Spokane Valley, Washington, serving 419 students in grades 6-8. While the school is part of the Central Valley School District, which is ranked 71 out of 247 districts in the state, Bowdish Middle School itself faces significant academic challenges.

Bowdish Middle School has a notably higher percentage of white students (79.71%) compared to the state average and nearby schools, such as Selkirk Middle School and Greenacres Middle School. However, the school consistently underperforms on standardized tests, with only 33.52% of students proficient in English Language Arts and 23.74% proficient in math, compared to the state averages of 52.63% and 41.68%, respectively. Bowdish Middle School's statewide ranking places it between 327 and 442 out of 535 Washington middle schools, indicating below-average performance.

The school's struggles extend to various student subgroups, with white, male, and special education students all ranking in the bottom 20% of Washington middle schools. Additionally, Bowdish Middle School has seen a significant increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, rising from 44.92% in 2020-2021 to 61.58% in 2022-2023, suggesting a growing population of economically disadvantaged students. These factors, combined with the school's declining academic performance over the past several years, indicate the need for a comprehensive review of educational practices and targeted interventions to support struggling students at Bowdish Middle School.

Detail:

Public 6-8

2109 S Skipworth Rd
Spokane Valley, WA 99206-5661

(509) 558-4700

District: Central Valley School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
442^nd of 535 Washington Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,773

Students who attend Bowdish Middle School usually attend:

High:

University High School

Feeder schools for Bowdish Middle School:

Elementary:	McDonald Elementary School
	South Pines Elementary
	University Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.7

Number of students: 361

Racial breakdown:

White:

78.1%

African American:

6.4%

Two or more races:

6.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 71.2%

See top rated Washington middle schools

Compare Bowdish Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Bowdish Middle School ranks worse than 82.6% of middle schools in Washington. It also ranks last among 6 ranked middle schools in the Central Valley School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 20.41. (See more...)

Student Body

Compare Details Bowdish Middle School has the smallest middle school student body size in the Central Valley School District. Racial makeup is: White (78.1%), African American (6.4%), two or more races (6.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 71.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Bowdish Middle School is 14.7, which is the lowest among 6 middle schools in the Central Valley School District! (See more...)

Compare Bowdish Middle School employs 24.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Bowdish Middle School is $15,773, which is the highest among 6 middle schools in the Central Valley School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Bowdish Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Bowdish Middle School 442^nd of 535 Washington public middle schools. (See Bowdish Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

White students:

Central Valley School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Valley School District 71^st of 247 Washington school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Bowdish Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2004	62.95	158^th	421	62.5%
2005	62.46	151^st	425	64.5%
2006	56.98	182^nd	449	59.5%
2007	58.64	175^th	463	62.2%
2008	61.65	160^th	466	65.7%
2009	53.30	214^th	476	55.0%
2010	46.03	267^th	483	44.7%
2011	57.13	205^th	492	58.3%
2012	66.71	146^th	497	70.6%
2013	62.63	181^st	498	63.7%
2015	28.17	324^th	445	27.2%
2016	36.36	280^th	443	36.8%
2017	35.35	288^th	435	33.8%
2018	39.83	263^rd	437	39.8%
2019	33.87	347^th	512	32.2%
2021	37.28	327^th	529	38.2%
2022	29.07	387^th	541	28.5%
2023	21.27	436^th	539	19.1%
2024	20.41	442^nd	535	17.4%

See the entire list of Washington Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	27.52	191^st	246	22.4%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	24.66	227^th	268	15.3%
2019	20.34	210^th	231	9.1%
2021	30.73	150^th	210	28.6%
2022	20.71	177^th	199	11.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	49.67	161^st	349	53.9%
2019	40.12	277^th	448	38.2%
2021	52.63	186^th	458	59.4%
2022	41.81	265^th	475	44.2%
2023	30.54	327^th	463	29.4%
2024	33.25	313^th	455	31.2%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	41.12	225^th	376	40.2%
2019	36.07	296^th	452	34.5%
2021	41.45	264^th	469	43.7%
2022	26.07	359^th	479	25.1%
2023	20.63	379^th	464	18.3%
2024	23.52	366^th	464	21.1%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	33.85	248^th	371	33.2%
2019	31.50	310^th	453	31.6%
2021	35.30	301^st	476	36.8%
2022	31.39	335^th	480	30.2%
2023	19.74	395^th	470	16.0%
2024	17.52	403^rd	466	13.5%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	40.67	156^th	259	39.8%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Bowdish Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	WA State Percentile
2018	25.77	253^rd	325	22.2%
2019	22.95	384^th	470	18.3%
2021	26.58	360^th	480	25.0%
2022	20.80	412^th	488	15.6%
2023	12.04	451^st	488	7.6%
2024	9.75	460^th	486	5.3%

See the entire list of Best Washington Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Washington Office of Superindentent of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a student
Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Bowdish Middle School is one of the nices middle schools i have seen so GO BOWDISH ROCKETS !!!!!!!!! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Bowdish Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	445	6	5	7	6	n/a	n/a	0	469
1989	445	4	6	5	5	n/a	n/a	0	465
1990	422	5	7	3	4	n/a	n/a	0	441
1991	418	5	5	4	4	n/a	n/a	0	436
1992	461	7	6	5	6	n/a	n/a	0	485
1993	442	5	5	7	8	n/a	n/a	0	467
1994	509	6	5	5	5	n/a	n/a	0	530
1995	513	6	8	6	14	n/a	n/a	0	547
1996	513	6	8	6	14	n/a	n/a	0	547
1997	509	7	13	9	13	n/a	n/a	0	551
1998	279	5	8	7	6	n/a	n/a	0	305
1999	484	6	15	11	15	n/a	n/a	0	531
2000	446	6	10	11	17	n/a	n/a	0	490
2001	444	5	13	12	17	n/a	n/a	0	491
2002	492	14	10	10	13	n/a	n/a	0	539
2003	492	14	10	10	13	n/a	n/a	0	539
2004	490	9	8	10	12	n/a	n/a	0	529
2005	508	15	7	21	10	n/a	n/a	0	561
2006	468	9	5	15	13	n/a	n/a	0	510
2007	506	11	8	15	11	n/a	n/a	0	551
2008	433	11	20	16	8	n/a	n/a	16	504
2009	435	10	17	15	8	n/a	n/a	18	503
2010	420	9	13	14	13	n/a	n/a	31	500
2011	437	6	3	32	8	0	43	0	529
2012	426	6	3	26	6	1	51	0	519
2013	422	8	2	33	3	2	45	0	515
2014	413	11	4	27	4	2	43	0	504
2015	399	17	6	36	5	2	43	0	508
2016	416	10	7	34	5	0	35	0	507
2017	393	8	6	31	5	0	28	0	471
2018	403	8	5	30	5	2	26	0	479
2019	435	10	4	9	8	3	24	0	493
2020	404	17	7	8	7	3	22	0	468
2021	394	18	6	13	7	3	22	0	463
2022	365	21	9	17	5	2	25	0	444
2023	334	22	3	18	9	4	26	3	419
2024	282	23	3	15	10	6	22	0	361

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Bowdish Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	469	24.0	19.5	0
1989	465	24.0	19.3	n/a
1990	441	24.0	18.3	0
1991	436	23.9	18.2	n/a
1992	485	23.0	21.0	n/a
1993	467	24.0	19.5	n/a
1994	530	26.8	19.8	n/a
1995	547	27.5	19.9	n/a
1996	547	27.5	19.9	n/a
1997	551	26.7	20.6	n/a
1998	305	23.4	13.0	n/a
1999	531	27.5	19.3	n/a
2000	490	25.8	19.0	n/a
2001	491	25.5	19.3	n/a
2002	539	29.5	18.3	35.6
2003	539	29.5	18.3	35.6
2004	529	32.0	16.5	36.7
2005	561	32.5	17.3	36.4
2006	510	33.2	15.4	41.8
2007	551	34.5	16.0	53.2
2008	504	30.0	16.8	39.8
2009	503	30.0	16.8	40.4
2010	500	28.8	17.3	46.9
2011	529	27.8	19.0	54.3
2012	519	28.7	18.0	54.7
2013	515	28.8	17.8	39.4
2014	504	n/a	n/a	50.4
2015	508	27.0	18.8	54.1
2016	507	28.0	18.1	48.1
2017	471	28.0	16.8	52.9
2018	479	27.5	17.3	49.1
2019	493	27.7	17.7	11.6
2020	468	26.9	17.3	52.1
2021	463	28.0	16.5	44.9
2022	444	29.0	15.3	54.3
2023	419	29.8	14.0	61.6
2024	361	24.5	14.7	71.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Bowdish Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	469	24.0	19.5	0
1989	465	24.0	19.3	n/a
1990	441	24.0	18.3	0
1991	436	23.9	18.2	n/a
1992	485	23.0	21.0	n/a
1993	467	24.0	19.5	n/a
1994	530	26.8	19.8	n/a
1995	547	27.5	19.9	n/a
1996	547	27.5	19.9	n/a
1997	551	26.7	20.6	n/a
1998	305	23.4	13.0	n/a
1999	531	27.5	19.3	n/a
2000	490	25.8	19.0	n/a
2001	491	25.5	19.3	n/a
2002	539	29.5	18.3	35.6
2003	539	29.5	18.3	35.6
2004	529	32.0	16.5	36.7
2005	561	32.5	17.3	36.4
2006	510	33.2	15.4	41.8
2007	551	34.5	16.0	53.2
2008	504	30.0	16.8	39.8
2009	503	30.0	16.8	40.4
2010	500	28.8	17.3	46.9
2011	529	27.8	19.0	54.3
2012	519	28.7	18.0	54.7
2013	515	28.8	17.8	39.4
2014	504	n/a	n/a	50.4
2015	508	27.0	18.8	54.1
2016	507	28.0	18.1	48.1
2017	471	28.0	16.8	52.9
2018	479	27.5	17.3	49.1
2019	493	27.7	17.7	11.6
2020	468	26.9	17.3	52.1
2021	463	28.0	16.5	44.9
2022	444	29.0	15.3	54.3
2023	419	29.8	14.0	61.6
2024	361	24.5	14.7	71.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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