Best Public Schools in Yelm, WA

The Yelm School District serves the community with nine public schools, including five elementary, two middle, and two high schools, educating roughly 4,850 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

Parents will find a mix of performance across the district. Fort Stevens Elementary stands out as the highest-performing school, with strong math scores and a lower student-teacher ratio, while Ridgeline Middle School consistently outperforms the other middle school, Yelm Middle School. The district's largest school, Yelm High School, has English scores above the state average but struggles significantly with math proficiency. In contrast, Yelm Extension School and Lackamas Elementary are identified as needing support, with very low rankings and proficiency rates.

Key takeaways include a notable performance gap between the two middle schools, a concerning drop in student performance during key transition years in 5th and 8th grades at several schools, and wide variability in science instruction at the elementary level. The district slightly trails the state average in English and science but matches it in math. Nearly half of all students in the district qualify for free or reduced-price meals, with rates varying by school.