Best Public Schools in Mesa, WA

Mesa, Washington, has two public elementary schools serving kindergarten through sixth grade: Basin City Elementary and Mesa Elementary, both part of the North Franklin School District. The city has no listed middle schools, high schools, or alternative schools, so this comparison focuses on elementary education. Together, the schools enroll about 550 students, with Basin City serving approximately 330 and Mesa about 220.

Mesa Elementary is the stronger overall performer in the latest data. It ranks 469th out of 1,138 Washington schools, compared with 886th for Basin City Elementary. Mesa also has higher all-grade proficiency in English language arts, math, and science: 41.67%, 40.37%, and 48.28%, respectively, versus 31.48%, 31.68%, and 40.00% at Basin City. Mesa is especially competitive with statewide results in math and science. Its ranking has also improved sharply, rising from the 24th percentile in 2023–24 to the 59th percentile in 2025–26. Recent gains were strongest in ELA and science, although math declined slightly.

Basin City Elementary has several subject-specific strengths. It performs above the district in math and science, and its fifth-grade ELA and math results are relatively strong. Science improved by nearly nine percentage points in one year, although ELA declined. Third-grade ELA, at 20.51%, is its clearest area of concern. Both schools serve high-need student populations, while Mesa has a lower student-teacher ratio—13.2 compared with 15.1—and slightly lower reported spending per student. Overall, Mesa offers the more favorable academic profile and recent momentum, while Basin City shows promising math and science performance but more uneven results.