Best Schools in King County, Washington
461 ranked schools in King County
Introduction
King County is one of the most educationally diverse counties in the Pacific Northwest, home to everything from dense urban neighborhoods in Seattle to quiet suburban corridors in Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, and Bellevue. With more than a dozen school districts operating across the county, the range in school performance is wide — but the ceiling is remarkably high.
Families relocating to the area will notice quickly that some of the strongest-performing schools in the entire state are concentrated here, particularly in the eastern suburbs along the I-90 and SR-520 corridors. Districts like Lake Washington, Bellevue, and Issaquah consistently produce schools that rank in the top percentiles statewide. That said, Seattle's district is larger and more variable — with some standout schools mixed in among schools that are still working to close achievement gaps. For parents doing their homework before a move or a school choice decision, understanding which districts and neighborhoods to focus on makes a significant difference.
The Districts That Stand Out
Lake Washington School District
Lake Washington School District is the name that comes up most often in conversations about King County schools, and the data backs that up. Serving Kirkland, Redmond, and parts of Sammamish, it has more top-percentile schools across all grade levels than any other district in the county.
At the elementary level, Christa McAuliffe Elementary in Sammamish and Sunrise Elementary in Redmond both score at the 100th percentile in English, Math, and Science. At the middle school level, the district is particularly dominant — four of the five top-ranked middle schools in King County are Lake Washington schools. Northstar Middle School in Kirkland ranks at the 100th percentile overall. International Community School, also in Kirkland, sits at the 100th percentile overall as well, with a 100th in English and Science and a 99th in Math. Environmental & Adventure School and Stella Schola round out the top five, both holding at the 99th percentile overall. At the high school level, Nikola Tesla STEM High School in Redmond leads every other high school in the county, scoring at the 100th percentile in English, Math, and Science.
What's notable about Lake Washington isn't just the peak performance — it's the consistency across campuses. The district has multiple strong schools at each level rather than one or two outliers carrying the rankings. The communities it serves tend to be tech-adjacent, with many families connected to the broader Eastside tech economy. Schools here are academically serious, and families often arrive with high expectations, which shapes the culture in ways that are hard to separate from the data.
Bellevue School District
Bellevue School District serves the city of Bellevue as well as the small, affluent city of Medina — and the numbers reflect those communities well. Medina Elementary scores at the 100th percentile in English, Math, and Science, making it one of a small number of schools in the state to hit that mark across every subject. At the high school level, International School in Bellevue scores at the 99th percentile in English, 100th in Math, and 100th in Science, with an overall ranking at the 100th percentile.
Bellevue as a city is dense by Eastside standards, and the district has a more urban character than Lake Washington or Issaquah. International School in particular draws students who are interested in a more academically rigorous and globally oriented program — it's not a neighborhood school in the traditional sense, and families who choose it tend to be deliberate about doing so.
Issaquah School District
Issaquah School District doesn't always get the same attention as Bellevue or Lake Washington, but at the elementary level it's right in the conversation. Cascade Ridge Elementary in Sammamish scores at the 99th percentile in English, 100th in Math, and 100th in Science, landing at the 100th percentile overall.
The district serves a mix of communities across Issaquah, Sammamish, and parts of the Cougar Mountain area. It tends to have a slightly more suburban, lower-key feel than Bellevue — less density, more residential neighborhoods. Families who prioritize strong academics but want something with a bit less pressure than some of the more intensely competitive Eastside environments sometimes find Issaquah to be a good fit.
Seattle School District No. 1
Seattle's district is the largest in the county and, predictably, one of the most variable. But within it are schools that compete with anything on the Eastside. Cascadia Elementary in Seattle scores at the 100th percentile across English, Math, and Science — one of only a handful of schools in the county to do so. Lincoln High School in Seattle ranks at the 98th percentile in English, 98th in Math, and 99th in Science, with an overall score at the 99th percentile.
The district is also showing some encouraging improvement at individual schools. Bryant Elementary School jumped from the 82nd to the 92nd percentile — a 10-point gain that's meaningful at that level of the distribution.
Seattle's schools vary significantly by neighborhood, which means families looking at the district need to look school by school rather than district-wide.
Northshore School District
Northshore serves communities north of Kirkland, including Bothell and Kenmore, and its top elementary school, Sunrise Elementary in Redmond, performs at the 100th percentile across all subjects. The district doesn't have the same volume of top-ranked schools as Lake Washington, but Sunrise shows what the district is capable of at its best. For families considering the northern end of King County, Northshore is worth evaluating alongside its more prominent neighbors.
Schools Worth Knowing About
Nikola Tesla STEM High School draws students from across the Lake Washington School District who are interested in science, technology, engineering, and math — and the academic outcomes reflect that focus. Scoring at the 100th percentile in every subject, it's one of the few high schools in Washington to reach that mark. Families with students who want a rigorous, career-connected STEM environment tend to seek it out specifically.
Raisbeck Aviation High School in Tukwila is one of the more distinctive schools in the county. Run by the Highline School District — not typically in the top-tier conversation — it scores at the 100th percentile in English and Science and the 98th in Math, landing at the 99th overall. Its aviation and aerospace focus gives it a character unlike anything else in King County, and it draws motivated students from a broad geographic area.
Discovery Community School in the Lake Washington School District is one to watch. It jumped 11 percentile points in recent rankings, moving from the 68th to the 78th percentile. That kind of growth at the school level is meaningful, and it suggests something is working — worth keeping an eye on for families in the district who may have overlooked it previously.
How We Rank Schools
School rankings on The School Advocate are based on state assessment data across three subjects: English (weighted at 40%), Math (40%), and Science (20%). More recent years are weighted more heavily than older data to reflect current performance. Every public school in Washington state is included in the rankings, which means percentile scores reflect standing against the full statewide distribution — not just county or district peers.
Compare Schools Yourself
For parents who want to go deeper, the comparison tool at /compare lets you put any two schools side by side across all subjects and percentile scores. It's useful when you're trying to decide between a neighborhood school and a choice option, or comparing two districts you're considering for a move.
Top Elementary Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cascadia Elementary | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | Medina Elementary School | Bellevue School District | Medina | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 3 | Christa Mcauliffe Elementary | Lake Washington School District | Sammamish | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 4 | Cascade Ridge Elementary | Issaquah School District | Sammamish | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| 5 | Sunrise Elementary | Northshore School District | Redmond | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 6 | Somerset Elementary School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 7 | Explorer Community School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 100 | 99 | 99 |
| 8 | Endeavour Elementary School | Issaquah School District | Issaquah | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 9 | Samantha Smith Elementary | Lake Washington School District | Sammamish | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 10 | Cherry Crest Elementary School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 99 | 99 | 99 |
Top Middle Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Northstar Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Kirkland | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | International Community School | Lake Washington School District | Kirkland | 100 | 99 | 100 |
| 3 | Environmental & Adventure School | Lake Washington School District | Kirkland | 99 | 99 | 99 |
| 4 | Stella Schola | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 99 | 100 | 99 |
| 5 | Evergreen Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 97 | 99 | 99 |
| 6 | Timberline Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 98 | 97 | 98 |
| 7 | Beaver Lake Middle School | Issaquah School District | Issaquah | 98 | 97 | 98 |
| 8 | Inglewood Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Sammamish | 98 | 97 | 98 |
| 9 | Pine Lake Middle School | Issaquah School District | Sammamish | 97 | 98 | 98 |
| 10 | Tyee Middle School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 96 | 98 | 97 |
Top High Schools
| Rank | School | District | City | English | Math | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Tesla STEM High School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| 2 | International School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 99 | 100 | 100 |
| 3 | Raisbeck Aviation High School | Highline School District | Tukwila | 100 | 98 | 99 |
| 4 | Mercer Island High School | Mercer Island School District | Mercer Island | 98 | 99 | 99 |
| 5 | Lincoln High School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 98 | 98 | 99 |
| 6 | Skyline High School | Issaquah School District | Sammamish | 97 | 99 | 98 |
| 7 | Innovation Lab High School | Northshore School District | Bothell | 99 | 93 | 98 |
| 8 | Newport Senior High School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 97 | 99 | 98 |
| 9 | Vashon Island High School | Vashon Island School District | Vashon | 97 | 96 | 97 |
| 10 | Inglemoor HS | Northshore School District | Kenmore | 94 | 95 | 96 |