Best Middle Schools in King County, Washington
Introduction
King County is home to some of the most academically accomplished middle schools in Washington State — and honestly, in the country. If you're a parent navigating school choices in the greater Seattle area, you've probably already noticed that the Eastside communities in particular punch well above their weight. Districts like Lake Washington, Issaquah, and Bellevue have built reputations for rigorous academics, well-resourced programs, and communities where families are deeply invested in education.
What makes this list especially interesting is the variety. You'll find traditional neighborhood schools sitting alongside specialized programs with distinct missions — environmental learning, international studies, classical education. Whether you're drawn to a school because of its unique philosophy or simply because it's the best option in your zip code, King County's top middle schools offer something genuinely compelling for a wide range of families. Here's a closer look at the ten that rose to the top.
1. Northstar Middle School — Lake Washington School District, Kirkland
Northstar Middle School sits at the very top of our rankings with perfect 100th percentile scores in both English and Math — a remarkable achievement that reflects both the school's strong instructional culture and the high-achieving community it serves. Located in Kirkland, a city that blends Pacific Northwest charm with a thriving tech-adjacent economy, Northstar draws families who prioritize academic excellence without sacrificing a well-rounded school experience. If you're relocating to the Kirkland area and want a neighborhood middle school that consistently performs at the highest level, this is the one to know.
2. International Community School — Lake Washington School District, Kirkland
With 100th percentile scores in English and Science and a 99th in Math, International Community School is essentially in a class of its own — and its name gives you a hint as to why. ICS is designed for students and families with a global mindset, making it a natural fit for the internationally diverse, tech-industry communities that have taken root across Kirkland and the broader Eastside. If your family values cultural awareness alongside academic rigor, this school has a distinctive identity that goes well beyond its impressive test scores.
3. Environmental & Adventure School — Lake Washington School District, Kirkland
EAS, as locals know it, is the kind of school that makes families specifically move into a district. Scoring in the 99th percentile across English, Math, and Science, it pairs elite academic outcomes with an experiential learning philosophy centered on environmental stewardship and outdoor adventure. This is not a typical middle school — it attracts families who want their kids to be just as comfortable identifying native plants on a field study as they are acing a science exam. For parents who believe learning should happen beyond the classroom walls, EAS is a genuinely rare find.
4. Stella Schola — Lake Washington School District, Redmond
Stella Schola is a classical education school within the Lake Washington School District, and its academic results — 99th percentile in English, 100th in Math, and 96th in Science — speak to just how effective that model can be. Classical education emphasizes structured learning, Socratic discussion, and a deep grounding in literature and logic, which tends to appeal to families looking for something more traditional and rigorous than a standard public school curriculum. Redmond itself is a dynamic city anchored by Microsoft's headquarters, and the community here tends to be analytically minded and highly engaged in their children's education.
5. Evergreen Middle School — Lake Washington School District, Redmond
Evergreen Middle School is one of those schools that might not have the same name recognition as some of the specialized programs on this list, but its numbers are impossible to ignore — 97th percentile in English, 99th in Math, and 99th in Science. For families in Redmond who want a strong neighborhood school without the application process of a choice program, Evergreen delivers at an exceptional level. It's a great option for academically motivated students who thrive in a more traditional school setting within a community that clearly supports high achievement.
Score Trends — Top 5
Northstar Middle School continues to lead the pack with stellar English performance holding steady at 94, while their math program shows impressive growth with scores jumping from 86 to 93—a remarkable seven-point increase. International Community School remains competitive overall, though they faced a slight dip in both subjects, with English declining by one point to 92 and math dropping more noticeably from 90 to 84. Environmental & Adventure School shows mixed results, with English slipping three points to 85 but math gains two points to reach 85, creating an interesting convergence between the two subjects. Stella Schola is moving in a positive direction, gaining five points in English (86 to 91) and one point in math (86 to 87), signaling solid improvement across both disciplines. Evergreen Middle School demonstrates steady, consistent growth with English rising one point to 84 and math climbing four points to 85, reflecting a school finding its footing with stronger math instruction.
6. Timberline Middle School — Lake Washington School District, Redmond
Timberline rounds out a remarkable trio of top-performing middle schools in Redmond, scoring in the 97th to 98th percentile range across all three subjects. The Lake Washington School District has a well-earned reputation for consistency, and Timberline is a strong example of what a well-run neighborhood middle school looks like when a district gets the fundamentals right. Families in this part of Redmond tend to be highly educated and professionally accomplished, and that community culture shows up in how students perform. It's a reliable, high-quality option for families settled in this part of the Eastside.
7. Beaver Lake Middle School — Issaquah School District, Issaquah
Beaver Lake is Issaquah School District's entry on this list, and it more than holds its own against the Lake Washington powerhouses — scoring 98th in English, 97th in Math, and 97th in Science. Issaquah is a city with a lot of personality: nestled between the Cascade foothills and the suburban Eastside, it attracts outdoorsy, community-oriented families who also happen to care deeply about academic quality. Beaver Lake feels very much like a reflection of that community — academically serious but grounded in a place where people genuinely like where they live.
8. Inglewood Middle School — Lake Washington School District, Sammamish
Sammamish is one of the fastest-growing cities in Washington, and Inglewood Middle School is a big part of why families keep choosing to put down roots there. Scoring 98th in English, 97th in Math, and an impressive 99th in Science, Inglewood consistently performs at an elite level within one of the state's strongest districts. The Sammamish community is largely composed of tech professionals and young families who moved east of Lake Sammamish in search of good schools, safe neighborhoods, and access to trails and green space — and Inglewood is a major part of that equation.
9. Pine Lake Middle School — Issaquah School District, Sammamish
Pine Lake Middle School is the second Sammamish school to make this list and the second representative from the Issaquah School District — a testament to just how strong academic outcomes are in this corner of King County. Scoring 97th in English, 98th in Math, and 98th in Science, Pine Lake serves a community of families who chose Sammamish deliberately, often with schools like this one in mind. The school has a warm, community-focused reputation, and the surrounding neighborhood has the kind of established, family-friendly feel that makes it easy to put down long-term roots.
10. Tyee Middle School — Bellevue School District, Bellevue
Tyee Middle School represents the Bellevue School District on this list, and it's a strong closer — 96th in English, 98th in Math, and 98th in Science. Bellevue is its own kind of destination city: urban enough to have a real downtown, affluent enough to have first-rate public infrastructure, and competitive enough that its school district has long been considered among the best in the state. Tyee serves families who want to be in Bellevue specifically, and the school delivers the kind of academic performance that justifies that choice.
Score Trends — #6-10
Timberline Middle School shows slight movement in opposite directions, with English dipping one point to 83 while math improved two points to 80, representing modest gains in their lower-performing subject. Beaver Lake Middle School held English flat at 84 while focusing gains on math, which climbed two points to 81, suggesting strategic efforts in their math program. Inglewood Middle School rounded out the middle tier with one-point growth in English (83 to 84) and four-point improvement in math (75 to 79), demonstrating that even schools with lower starting scores can make meaningful progress. Pine Lake Middle School shows similar momentum with incremental English growth (80 to 81) and a more substantial five-point math jump (77 to 82), putting them on an encouraging upward trajectory. Finally, Tyee Middle School stands out as a breakout success story, with an impressive eight-point surge in English (75 to 83)—the largest single gain across all schools—while math rose one point to 82, proving that starting from lower scores doesn't preclude significant improvement.
How We Rank Schools
Our rankings are based on student performance data across three subjects: English, Math, and Science. English and Math each account for 40% of a school's overall score, while Science makes up the remaining 20%. We weight more recent school years more heavily than older data, so a school's current performance matters more than where it was three or four years ago. The percentile scores you see reflect how each school compares to all other public schools in Washington State — so a school in the 99th percentile is outperforming 99% of schools statewide.
We don't factor in school size, demographics, or funding levels into the ranking itself. Our goal is straightforward: show parents where students are learning the most, based on the best available academic data.
Compare Schools Yourself
Rankings are a useful starting point, but every family's priorities are different. If you want to go deeper — compare two schools side by side, look at individual subject scores, or see how a school in one district stacks up against one across town — head over to our school comparison tool at /compare. You can build your own picture of what matters most to you, whether that's Math performance, Science scores, or overall consistency over time. It's free, and it's built exactly for the kind of research you're probably already doing.
Top 50 Rankings
| 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 |
| 11 | Odle Middle School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 95 | 96 | 97 |
| 12 | Islander Middle School | Mercer Island School District | Mercer Island | 96 | 96 | 97 |
| 13 | Pacific Cascade Middle School | Issaquah School District | Issaquah | 94 | 95 | 96 |
| 14 | Snoqualmie Middle School | Snoqualmie Valley School District | Snoqualmie | 96 | 95 | 96 |
| 15 | Hamilton International Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 95 | 96 | 96 |
| 16 | Timbercrest Middle School | Northshore School District | Woodinville | 95 | 94 | 95 |
| 17 | Federal Way Public Academy | Federal Way School District | Federal Way | 97 | 92 | 95 |
| 18 | Eckstein Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 94 | 93 | 95 |
| 19 | Rose Hill Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 94 | 96 | 95 |
| 20 | Cougar Mountain Middle School | Issaquah School District | Issaquah | 93 | 93 | 94 |
| 21 | Redmond Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Redmond | 90 | 94 | 93 |
| 22 | Kirkland Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Kirkland | 93 | 91 | 93 |
| 23 | Skyview Middle School | Northshore School District | Bothell | 92 | 92 | 93 |
| 24 | Whitman Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 91 | 88 | 92 |
| 25 | Robert Eagle Staff Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 94 | 91 | 92 |
| 26 | Madison Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| 27 | Salmon Bay K-8 School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 89 | 88 | 92 |
| 28 | Tillicum Middle School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 87 | 89 | 91 |
| 29 | Maywood Middle School | Issaquah School District | Renton | 88 | 91 | 91 |
| 30 | Tops K-8 School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 89 | 87 | 91 |
| 31 | Chief Kanim Middle School | Snoqualmie Valley School District | Fall City | 91 | 90 | 91 |
| 32 | Summit Trail Middle School | Tahoma School District | Ravensdale | 88 | 88 | 90 |
| 33 | McClure Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 91 | 83 | 90 |
| 34 | Renaissance School of Art and Reasoning | Lake Washington School District | Sammamish | 92 | 83 | 89 |
| 35 | Leota Middle School | Northshore School District | Woodinville | 88 | 86 | 89 |
| 36 | Twin Falls Middle School | Snoqualmie Valley School District | North Bend | 87 | 90 | 88 |
| 37 | McMurray Middle School | Vashon Island School District | Vashon | 81 | 86 | 88 |
| 38 | Chinook Middle School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 84 | 85 | 87 |
| 39 | Maple View Middle School | Tahoma School District | Covington | 82 | 84 | 86 |
| 40 | Jane Addams Middle School | Seattle School District No. 1 | Seattle | 89 | 77 | 86 |
| 41 | Issaquah Middle School | Issaquah School District | Issaquah | 81 | 85 | 86 |
| 42 | Kamiakin Middle School | Lake Washington School District | Kirkland | 82 | 83 | 85 |
| 43 | Northshore Middle School | Northshore School District | Bothell | 84 | 81 | 85 |
| 44 | Canyon Park Middle School | Northshore School District | Bothell | 85 | 79 | 84 |
| 45 | Kellogg Middle School | Shoreline School District | Shoreline | 80 | 79 | 82 |
| 46 | Rainier Prep | Rainier Prep Charter School District | Seattle | 83 | 84 | 81 |
| 47 | Kenmore Middle School | Northshore School District | Kenmore | 78 | 75 | 80 |
| 48 | Albert Einstein Middle School | Shoreline School District | Shoreline | 77 | 75 | 79 |
| 49 | Tolt Middle School | Riverview School District | Carnation | 73 | 74 | 76 |
| 50 | Bellevue Big Picture School | Bellevue School District | Bellevue | 75 | 68 | 74 |