Lake Washington Schools Among Best For Grades K-8: U.S. News

REDMOND, WA — Several elementary and middle schools in the Lake Washington School District have been ranked among the best in Washington, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. Lake Washington middle schools fared especially well, claiming four of the top five spots in the state.

For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public K-8 schools across the United States.

Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. The best charter schools and best magnet schools ranked as stand-alone categories.

U.S. News ranked Kirkland's Northstar Middle School as the best middle school in the state and in the Lake Washington School District, according to the new list.

Here’s a look at how other LWSD schools ranked compared with others in the state:

U.S. News Best Middle Schools in Washington:

• Northstar Middle School (Kirkland) - Ranked #1
• Stella Schola (Redmond) - Ranked #2
• International Community School (Kirkland) - Ranked #3
• Evergreen Middle School (Redmond) - Ranked #5
• Environmental & Adventure School (Kirkland) - Ranked #6

U.S. News Best Elementary Schools in Washington:

• Smith Elementary (Sammamish) - Ranked #8
• Wilder Elementary (Woodinville) - Ranked #12
• Rosa Parks Elementary (Redmond) - Ranked #13
• Carson Elementary (Sammamish) - Ranked #17
• Einstein Elementary (Redmond) - Ranked #26

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools.

California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.

See the complete list of 2021’s Best K-8 Schools.