Fife School District

Fife School District includes six schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12 in the Fife area: three elementary schools, one middle school, one comprehensive high school, and the small Fife Open Doors high-school program. The schools enroll about 3,364 students. Districtwide results are mixed, with the strongest outcomes generally in English language arts and elementary science, while math remains the main area needing improvement. The district is ranked 132nd of 238 Washington districts, at the 45th percentile.

Fife High School is the strongest-ranked school in the district, at the 57th percentile, and has particularly strong English results: 66.4% of students are proficient, well above district and state rates. Its 85.3% graduation rate is also slightly above the district and state. Math is the biggest concern, with proficiency at 30.43%. Among elementary schools, Hedden Elementary School has the strongest overall academic profile, performing above district averages in all three tested subjects, especially math. Fife Elementary School has the district’s standout elementary science result at 55.97%, although its English results are weaker.

Surprise Lake Middle School has shown the most noticeable ranking improvement, rising from the 29th to the 41st percentile, but math—especially seventh-grade math—remains a priority. Discovery Primary School serves prekindergarten through grade 2 and has the lowest student-teacher ratio, though assessment results are not provided. Fife Open Doors serves only 25 students and should be understood as a specialized program; its older graduation and dropout figures are not directly comparable with the comprehensive high school. Overall, parents may want to compare programs based on grade level: strong ELA at the high school, strong science at Fife Elementary, broad elementary performance at Hedden, and recent improvement but continuing math needs at Surprise Lake.