Bellingham School District — Decoded Rankings
21 of 25 schools ranked · Updated 2026-09-04
District profile
- Total enrollment
- 7,228
- Free/reduced lunch
- 42.5%
- Avg SES index
- 52.2
- State
- WA
Schools in Bellingham School District
Elementary / Middle Schools (18 ranked)
| Rating | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhaven Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #373 | #149 (WA)plausibly #94–290#1 (Bellingham metro) | ★Strong by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Whatcom Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #453 | #202 (WA)plausibly #161–298#2 (Bellingham metro) | ★★Outperforming Expectations | High | ||
| Kulshan Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #358 | #277 (WA)plausibly #90–486#4 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | ★Strong by Both Measures | High | ||
| Silver Beach Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #222 | #278 (WA)plausibly #116–545#5 (Bellingham metro) | ★Strong by Both Measures | High | ||
| Lowell Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #410 | #431 (WA)plausibly #276–663#9 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Wade King Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #533 | #550 (WA)plausibly #356–749#12 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Sunnyland Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #601 | #591 (WA)plausibly #415–909#13 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Parkview Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #607 | #647 (WA)plausibly #403–921#15 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Shuksan Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1110 | #664 (WA)plausibly #482–890#16 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | Medium | ||
| Columbia Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #454 | #743 (WA)plausibly #404–1013#19 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Geneva Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #483 | #842 (WA)plausibly #574–1017#20 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Cordata Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1404 | #923 (WA)plausibly #601–1190#22 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Alderwood Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1342 | #940 (WA)plausibly #676–1188#25 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Happy Valley Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #696 | #978 (WA)plausibly #749–1212#28 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Carl Cozier Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1163 | #988 (WA)plausibly #537–1275#29 (Bellingham metro) | Lower by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Birchwood Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1233 | #1289 (WA)plausibly #1095–1420#35 (Bellingham metro) | Lower by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Northern Heights Elementary SchlNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #637 | #1372 (WA)plausibly #1226–1448#36 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Roosevelt Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1084 | #1446 (WA)plausibly #1310–1481#37 (Bellingham metro) | Lower by Both Measures | High |
Rows marked ≈ are statistically tied with the row below them: on the current data the joint simulation gives the upper school less than a 65% chance of ranking above the lower one. Ties are between adjacent rows only.
High Schools (3 ranked)
| Rating | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sehome High SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #68 | #39 (WA)HS#1 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | Medium | ||
| Bellingham High SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #83 | #67 (WA)HS#2 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | Medium | ||
| Squalicum High SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #131 | #161 (WA)HS#7 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | High |
Story type breakdown
- 1Outperforming Expectations
- 4Strong by Both Measures
- 0High Scores, Context Matters
- 8Typical Profile
- 5Lower by Both Measures
How this district compares
District-level averages relative to the Bellingham, WA metro median.
| Measure | District avg | Metro median | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avg achievement percentile (metro) | 58.8 | 50 | 8.8 points above the metro median |
| Avg decoded percentile (metro) | 54.7 | 50 | 4.7 points above the metro median |
| Avg rank shift (places gained after context) | -1.6 | 0 | Schools lose 1.6 places on average after context. |
Data & sources
- Assessment data
- 2024–25 school year
- NCES CCD vintage
- 2024
- Census ACS 5-year vintage
- 2020-2024
- Last updated
- September 4, 2026
- Methodology version
- 0.14.0
Source files (3)
- NCES CCD 2024 directory (Urban Institute) (accessed 2026-09-04)
- ACS 5-year 2020-2024 (accessed 2026-09-04)
- Washington OSPI 2024-25 school-level results (accessed 2026-09-04)
SchoolDecoder publishes context-adjusted residuals, not causal estimates. Decoded Rank is one signal — not a verdict on teaching quality. Read about limitations →