Bellingham School District — Decoded Rankings
21 of 25 schools ranked · Updated 2026-09-04
District profile
- Total enrollment
- 7,311
- Free/reduced lunch
- 44.9%
- Avg SES index
- 51.8
- State
- WA
Schools in Bellingham School District
Elementary / Middle Schools (18 ranked)
| Rating | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairhaven Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #336 | #121 (WA)plausibly #95–183#1 (Bellingham metro) | ★Strong by Both Measures | High | ||
| Kulshan Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #305 | #150 (WA)plausibly #82–320#2 (Bellingham metro) | ★Strong by Both Measures | High | ||
| Silver Beach Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #206 | #229 (WA)plausibly #78–450#3 (Bellingham metro) | ★Strong by Both Measures | High | ||
| Whatcom Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #583 | #272 (WA)plausibly #200–425#5 (Bellingham metro) | ★★Outperforming Expectations | High | ||
| Lowell Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #351 | #334 (WA)plausibly #168–557#7 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | ★Strong by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Parkview Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #386 | #337 (WA)plausibly #216–530#8 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Wade King Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #516 | #525 (WA)plausibly #348–690#12 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Columbia Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #387 | #701 (WA)plausibly #425–978#15 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Sunnyland Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #770 | #801 (WA)plausibly #577–1094#18 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Shuksan Middle SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1159 | #809 (WA)plausibly #606–1035#19 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | Medium | ||
| Alderwood Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1246 | #819 (WA)plausibly #487–1114#21 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Geneva Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #436 | #874 (WA)plausibly #664–1060#24 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Happy Valley Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #598 | #954 (WA)plausibly #757–1211#26 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Carl Cozier Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #951 | #1127 (WA)plausibly #781–1362#31 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | High | ||
| Cordata Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1413 | #1241 (WA)plausibly #981–1407#33 (Bellingham metro) | Lower by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Roosevelt Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #995 | #1312 (WA)plausibly #1105–1438#34 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Lower by Both Measures | Medium | ||
| Birchwood Elementary SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #1293 | #1343 (WA)plausibly #1171–1444#35 (Bellingham metro)≈ tied with next | Lower by Both Measures | High | ||
| Northern Heights Elementary SchlNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #665 | #1354 (WA)plausibly #1163–1435#37 (Bellingham metro) | Typical Profile | 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 | #77 | #51 (WA)HS#2 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | Medium | ||
| Bellingham High SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #88 | #69 (WA)HS#4 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | Medium | ||
| Squalicum High SchoolNeighborhoodBellingham School District | #132 | #187 (WA)HS#9 (Bellingham metro) | HS outcome | Medium |
Story type breakdown
- 1Outperforming Expectations
- 5Strong by Both Measures
- 2High Scores, Context Matters
- 6Typical Profile
- 4Lower 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) | 60.1 | 50 | 10.1 points above the metro median |
| Avg decoded percentile (metro) | 55.4 | 50 | 5.4 points above the metro median |
| Avg rank shift (places gained after context) | -1.8 | 0 | Schools lose 1.8 places on average after context. |
Data & sources
- Assessment data
- 2023–24 school year
- NCES CCD vintage
- 2023
- Census ACS 5-year vintage
- 2020-2024
- Last updated
- September 4, 2026
- Methodology version
- 0.14.0
Source files (3)
- NCES CCD 2023 directory (Urban Institute) (accessed 2026-09-04)
- ACS 5-year 2020-2024 (accessed 2026-09-04)
- Washington OSPI 2023-24 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 →