Best Public Schools in Lake Tapps, WA

Lake Tapps, Washington, has three public schools serving 1,424 students across elementary and middle-school grades, with no listed high school or alternative school, all part of the highly rated Dieringer School District. The schools serve grades PK–8 across the area: Lake Tapps Elementary serves grades 1–3, Dieringer Heights Elementary serves PK–5, and North Tapps Middle School serves grades 6–8.

Overall, the area has a strong academic profile. The district ranks 9th of 238 Washington districts, and every reported school result is above the statewide average. Dieringer Heights Elementary is the strongest all-around performer, with 72.53% proficiency in English language arts, 63.58% in math, and 71.62% in science. It exceeds the district average in all three subjects and ranks in the 86th statewide percentile. North Tapps Middle School also ranks highly, in the 89th percentile, and is especially strong in English language arts and science. Its standout result is 78.86% proficiency in seventh-grade ELA, the highest grade-level score in the supplied data.

Lake Tapps Elementary is comparatively stronger in math than in ELA: its math proficiency is 63.16%, nearly matching Dieringer Heights and well above the state average, while its ELA result is 59.40%. This makes ELA the clearest area to monitor there. Math is also the main improvement opportunity at North Tapps Middle School, where proficiency is 56.63%, below the district average, although scores improve from sixth through eighth grade. Recent results were mixed: ELA declined at all three schools, while Dieringer Heights improved notably in math and North Tapps improved in science. Class sizes and spending vary, but the available figures do not establish that these differences cause the achievement patterns.